My Little Pony: Lifes a Mystery
by nwtp-dreamer
Summary: Sequel to My Little Pony: Magic is Mystery. Its been five years since Olivia was first found in the Everfree forest. Shes now twelve, and everything seems perfect. But when Olivia comes home from school one day nearly frozen and bleeding to death, suspicions rise about just how perfect things really are.
1. A Wonderful Life

_**BANG! HELLO MY WONDERFUL FAN FICTION READERS! :D **_

_**Allow me to re-introduce myself. The name is nwtp-dreamer. Now before I get into details, I want you to know that this story is a SEQUEL! So if you haven't read my first story, My Little Pony: Magic is Mystery, then you'll have no idea what's going on Just thought I'd make that clear.**_

_**Now I'm loving all your ideas for the sequel 3 and I loved them all so much I couldn't decide. That's why I'm mixing them together! YAAY! **_

_**So without further ado (I've always wanted to say that…) Here is My Little Pony: Life's a Mystery**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, and Tara.  
><strong>_

"I just don't understand," Olivia sighed, "It's been, like, five years maybe? How long is this gonna take?"

Olivia was sitting in the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse looking over her papers. She was twelve years old now. Her hair was longer, just below shoulder length, and she looked much healthier. However, her big hazel eyes remained the same.

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were all sitting around her. They looked pretty much the same, only a little bigger. Their flanks were still as blank as they were when Olivia was first found, but they were still determined to find their special talents at all costs.

Olivia stared at her notes. She had been keeping records of their progress since day one, but still no cutie marks have appeared.

"There has to be SOMETHING we haven't tried," Sweetie Belle said while trying to sneak a look at the papers.

"Well obviously," Olivia exclaimed, "But what? It seems like we've tried everything possible!"

"Guitar?" Scootaloo suggested.

"Tried it," Olivia confirmed.

"Football?" Applebloom asked.

"Tried it."

"Horseback Riding?" Sweetie Belle suggested happily.

Olivia slapped her forehead and sighed. "Sure. Horseback riding. How about we ask Big Macintosh? After all, he just happens to be a HORSE!"

"Oh," Sweetie said, suddenly realizing what Olivia had meant, "I guess that wouldn't really work out, huh?"

Olivia smiled a little and looked at her three friends. She actually couldn't imagine life without them. Ever since she had met Applebloom, the two were close as best friends could be. She had to admit, it was weird to think that her best friends were ponies, but she had grown so used to them that she usually just shrugged it off.

The four went over ideas for a while. You run out of ideas after a while, and their five years were no exception. All were still determined as ever, but they were ever so slowly beginning to lose hope.

All of a sudden, they heard a bell in the distance.

"Applebloom! Olivia!" a familiar voice rang out, "Dinner!"

The four said their goodbyes and all started for home. Scootaloo watched as Olivia walked away and smiled. She had grown up a lot, but she was the same old little Olivia.

* * *

><p>"So," Applebloom started, "How are things in the human land?"<p>

Olivia shivered a little. True, earth has its ups and downs, but she still didn't like it there. It seemed like everything was just so perfect in Equestria. While on earth it just seemed like one problem after another.

"It's been going okay lately," Olivia sighed.

"Who do you like better? Your teachers there? Or Applejack, Twilight, and Cheerilee?"

Olivia laughed at that question. "I HATE my teachers on earth! Their so dull, and mean."

Applebloom started to ask another question, but decided not to. Olivia was always a little awkward when talking about the human world.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the barn. They both stepped inside to see Applejack waiting for them.

"What took ya'll so long?" Applejack said tapping her foot, "The foods getting cold."

Olivia and Applebloom stared at the ground. They weren't sure exactly what they did wrong.

"Sorry," Olivia said in a quiet voice.

Applejack tried to keep the stern look on her face, but she couldn't help but soften. Her feelings had never changed for Olivia. In fact, ever since the day Olivia had started living with her, she was more protective than ever.

"Aw, Com'ere ya little varmit," Applejack laughed as she grabbed both the girl and the filly and pulled them close to her.

The two young ones laughed and tried to break free. They both kicked and lashed, but it was no use against the mighty Applejack.

Eventually, Applebloom bucked her sister in the stomach and managed to wiggle out of her grasp. Unfortunately, this just gave Applejack another arm to hold onto Olivia with.

"Applebloom!" Olivia screamed while laughing, "You trader!"

"Sorry Liv!" Applebloom screamed back with a giggle, "But you know what they say! Every filly for herself!"

Applejack now had Olivia pinned in a tickle attack. Olivia's face turned pink from laughter, and she still struggled to break free of her 'mothers' grip.

"Who's sorry about being late now, huh?" Applejack said in a playful tone.

Olivia couldn't breathe. She squirmed between Applejack's hooves, unable to escape her punishment.

"What was that?" Applejack mocked, "I couldn't hear ya'!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Olivia finally managed to choke out. Tears were now forming from laughter. Applejack smirked and decided to milk this a little longer.

Olivia couldn't move. She tried to push Applejack off, but it was no use. She sat there under the mercy of her mother, laughing so hard that her stomach hurt.

Applejack watched Olivia squirm. She was still just as cute as she was five years ago, only now she could be described more as beautiful. Olivia's eyes turned from bright yellow to sort of a greenish color, and Applejack decided it was time to stop.

Olivia coughed. Her lungs ached from the laughter, and Applejack scooped her up in her arms just like she used to. She may have been a lot older now, but Applejack still treated her the exact same way. After all, Olivia was still really small for her age. In fact she hadn't actually grown much at all height wise.

Applejack lifted the girl onto her back and started up the stairs.

"Hey wait, where are we going?" Olivia complained.

"Olivia, its already 10:30!" Applejack laughed, "You were supposed to be in bead half an hour ago. You have school again tomorrow."

"Oh come on! Just a little bit lo…," Olivia's voice suddenly trailed off.

Applejack froze in her tracks and looked up at the girl. She looked dizzy. Her skin was lighter than usual and her eyes were only half open. Applejack strained to see the color of Olivia's eyes, which were now bright purple. Purple meant pain.

Applejack rushed Olivia to her room and gently laid her on the bed. She looked over the girl. She felt her forehead with her hoof. It didn't seem too warm, but she put a washcloth on it just in case. That's when she noticed something dripping. The water from the washcloth was wiping something off of Olivia.

Applejack removed the cloth and felt the substance with her hoof. Makeup. She ever so carefully took the cloth and wiped all the makeup off that she could see. What she found shocked her. All around Olivia's eye was big and bruised.


	2. Abandoned Puppy

_**Hey thar! Okay, so I feel like a defiantly screwed the first chapter. Took things a little too fast. This chapter will be longer and less confusing. Actually getting to the point where this story line will make sense a little.**_

_** But be warned, this is a pretty disturbing chapter. Not good for young children or sensitive people. **_

_** Magic is Mystery had two main conflicts, Human in Equestria and Olivia's Dad. Life's a Mystery will have about three, that I will not reveal yet ;) Please Review!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys.**_

Olivia felt herself waking up. She turned onto her side, just to feel a sudden pain shot through her cheek. She lazily poked up her head and looked in the mirror across the room. Just as she had suspected, her makeup had worn off in her sleep. The bruise around her eye was even more swollen than the day before.

She jumped out of bed and trudged to the mirror. Quietly, she opened her makeup drawer and pulled out her concealer. Holding her breath, she applied it to her wound, careful to rub it in softly as to not damage it. She finished and stared at herself in the mirror.

"It's not… so bad," she mumbled to herself.

Just then, she heard the doorknob turning. She glanced over to see Applebloom letting herself in the room.

"Olivia!" She started happily, "Time to get—WHAT IN CELESTIAS NAME IS ALL OVER YOUR FACE?"

Olivia sighed. So much for it not being that bad. She gently took a towel and smeared the makeup off the bruise. Then, bracing herself for the reaction, she turned to Applebloom, who gasped loudly.

"WHAT IN THE HAY HAPPENED?"

"It's a long story," Olivia said in a quiet voice, hinting for Applebloom to calm down, "I can't tell you right now. This is more important. We can't let Applejack see this."

Applebloom thought about this for a second. She was always on Olivia's side, ever since the day they had met. No matter what was going on, Applebloom kept her word and was always there for Olivia. Then again, so was Applejack. That is, if she had actually known something was going on half the time. She finally made up her mind and stomped her hoof.

"No!" Applebloom said sternly, "We have to tell her."

Olivia was taken back by this. Applebloom had always been one to support her when it came to these things. Why was she changing her mind all of a sudden? Olivia put on her puppy dog face.

"Why? She doesn't need to know! I'm fine!"

"No, Olivia," Applebloom said again, "Every time you do this your actually not fine, but nobody knows 'bout it til' it's too late!"

Olivia batted her eyelashes. Her eyes turned bright green, and she stuck out her bottom lip.

"Come on, Applebloom! It's different this time!"

"No!"

"Please!" Olivia begged, "Look, if you just help me until I get to school, then I'll show her tonight. I promise!"

Applebloom thought about this for a while. It would be better if they just told Applejack and got it over with. However, knowing Olivia, if she said no to helping her out then they'd probably be here for the next hour or so.

"Fine," Applebloom sighed in defeat, "I'll help ya out, but only until ya leave for school. It's up to you from that point on."

Olivia jumped up and hugged her pony 'aunt', who was actually more like a sister.

"You're the best Applebloom!"

Applebloom grinned and returned the hug. _Same old Olivia._ She let go and slid Olivia's school bag toward her.

"I'll give you the signal when it's safe to come down. Now hurry up and get your stuff."

Olivia gave an affirmative nod and started filling her bag. Applebloom smiled and began to exit the room.

"Now, how should I distract Applejack," she asked herself quietly.

Just as she was about to come up with an idea, Applejack stepped in front of her.

"Hey there Applebloom," she said happily, "Is Olivia awake?"

Applebloom was wide eyed, but she quickly regained her cool. If there was one thing Olivia had taught her over the years, it was how to hide things.

"Yea, she's up," she started making up her story, "And actually, she's been up for a while now. She's plannin' on leaving early today. She might not even come down for breakfast."

Applejack suddenly had a concerned look on her face. Why would Olivia be leaving early? Applebloom caught her sister's gaze and quickly changed the subject.

"Oh! And by the way! I thought I heard something outside last night. If I were you I'd check if the apple trees are alright. Somepony might've been messin' with em."

At this, Applejack immediately went into action. She galloped out the door at full speed, and looked around her orchard. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. She inspected every row of trees carefully, just to make sure no pony had broken a branch. Once everything seemed clear, and every apple tree was in shape, she trotted back in the barn.

She went back inside to see Applebloom coming down from Olivia's room.

"Where's Olivia?"

"She just left," Applebloom replied as if it was normal, "She was gonna go find you, but I told her you were busy inspectin' the orchard. So she said to tell you goodbye from her."

Applejack looked confused. Something wasn't right. Olivia leaving for the human world early was one thing, but not even saying goodbye was another. She suddenly remembered finding Olivia's swollen eye the night before. Did that have something to do with it? She shook her head. That didn't even make sense.

Applejack decided to ignore the strangeness for now. There was work to be done on the farm, and she needed to focus on that at the moment. She'd deal with other problems later.

* * *

><p>Olivia sprinted away from the barn. She had left just as Applejack was heading back, and her escape was very short notice. But she had still managed it.<p>

Once she got far enough away from Sweet Apple Acers, she slowed her sprint down to a walk. The portal that Princess Celestia had made wasn't far now, then she'd have time to think.

How was she supposed to hide a black eye? Especially from Applejack? She'd been paranoid of Olivia getting hurt ever since they day they had met. Now wouldn't be any different than before. Sure, Celestia sent Olivia's dad away, but there's always that constant fear that he'll one day return. Of course, no one has ever spoken of that fear, but everyone knew it was there.

Olivia was so deep in thought that she almost walked right past the portal. She approached it slowly, taking a deep breath. She held out her arms and let herself fall. All around her, she felt rushing winds. They were strong enough to move mountains, and yet it didn't even blow Olivia's hair. It was a magical feeling. It would be scary if you had never felt it before, but magical all the same.

Olivia landed on a dirty sidewalk in the middle of the city. She held on to a nearby light post while she regained her balance. Everything finally became clear again, the muggy sky, the abandoned buildings. Everything she had known in the human world. It was the middle of February, and it was freezing.

She coughed. She had been going to school in the human world for 4 years, and she still wasn't used to how polluted it was. Dragging her feet, she began to walk to school.

She knew what was coming; it was the same every morning. Her heart started pounding as she neared the park. She looked around, and saw no sign of anyone. She still didn't want to risk it. She started to pick up her pace.

What was only a few seconds, seemed like eternity to Olivia. Perspiration started dripping down her forehead, while her eyes nervously darted from side to side. It was quiet, and that wasn't normal. She looked over at the play equipment, which was abandoned and rusty.

Olivia had come to play here a long while back. It was like a vivid movie was permanently stamped into her mind. That was a year ago. Everything was finally perfect, up until she came to this place. That's what started this whole new mess.

The sound of a broken bottle interrupted her thoughts. She jumped and started to sprint. She needed to outrun them. She knew she could, but the fear in her slowed her down. She felt her toe catch on something, and she tripped. She landed in the ice cold snow. It was all over now.

She heard the laughter of teenage boys and she struggled to lift herself up. She suddenly felt a heavy foot on her shoulder, and she was shoved right back down again. She felt her nose start to burn from the cold.

"It would be a lot easier if you just stayed down there, pipsqueak," she heard a voice say.

Olivia shakily turned her head and glanced up. Three tall boys were staring down at her with evil smirks on their faces. One had a beer bottle in his hand, and all three of them smelled of marijuana.

The tallest one, the one with the beer bottle, was named Adam. He had long blonde hair and had very broad shoulders. He was around fifteen years old and had the looks of a star football player.

The one in the middle, the one who had pushed Olivia down, was named Jason. He was also built like Adam, but he looked much more vulnerable. He had tan skin and black hair that was greased back.

Finally, the last one was named C.J. He was basically the leader of the gang. He was shorter and not as muscular, but he had the looks of a murderer. He had an army haircut that was light brown, but the tips of it were dyed red.

All three of the boys were drunk off of who knows what. Jason was having trouble standing up straight, and Adam's mouth was hanging open as if he was asleep.

"Well, if it isn't the freak," C.J began, "Tried to skip out on our little daily meeting, did ya?"

Olivia was shaking ever so slightly. She didn't reply. The best way to get them to leave her alone was to not show that they were intimidating her, although, it didn't help when her eyes gave her away. They suddenly turned bright neon blue. Adam laughed.

"There goes your eyes again, shrimp! What's the matter? You scared that we're gonna pick on you?"

Olivia growled a little. She knew she was small, she had only grown a couple of inches or so since she was sent to Equestria. But that didn't mean she was still a little kid.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that," Jason continued, "We just came to get what we want out of you."

"Where's our stuff?" C.J. commanded.

Olivia gulped. She braced herself for the reply she was about to get. Holding her breath, she managed to choke out;

"I don't have it."

The boys looked shocked, but then that shock turned to fury. Adam lifted his foot and kicked Olivia straight in the jaw. Her head fell back to the ground and she grasped around her mouth.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE IT?" Jason screamed.

Olivia felt tears forming in her eyes. She tried hard to hold them back, but the sharp pain in her jaw only made things worse. C.J suddenly smiled.

"Fine then," he said in a fake sweet kind of voice. He picked Olivia up and carried her to his truck.

Olivia screamed and tried to wiggle free, but she had no power in the older boy's grip. He stripped her of her coat and hat, and threw her in the trunk.

Olivia panicked. C.J. pinned her down to the floor of the trunk while Jason grabbed the door. They both smiled at her.

"Have a fun trip, pipsqueak," Jason said mockingly. Then C.J. quickly moved his arms and Jason slammed the trunk.

Olivia felt the engine turn on and the truck speed off. She tried to hold onto something, but there was nothing there. Tears fell down her cheeks. She wished she were back at home. She wished she were back with Applejack and Applebloom, and everyone else. She hated the human world. It was nothing but pain.

The truck came to a screeching halt, and Olivia fell backward. Her head slammed into the back of the trunk.

Blinding light poured in as the door opened. Adam was standing there smiling at her.

"Have a nice ride, kid?" he laughed.

C.J. soon came and lifted Olivia out. She looked at her surroundings. They were in a very old part of town. The ground was all gravel and ice, and all that was around were a couple of burnt down houses, an old slaughtering shed, and a pond that was nearly frozen over.

"You look a little flushed," C.J. said in a fake caring voice, "You need to cool down. How about a swim?"

Olivia tried hard to free herself, but it was still no use. If anything she was weaker this time than before. She just had to except her fate; there was nothing else she could do.

C.J. walked over to the edge of the pond. Adam came with a large rock and threw it at the ice, breaking a hole just the size of Olivia's head.

"That should be a big enough hole for you to swim in, right shrimp?"

C.J. laughed at his friend's short joke and looked back at Olivia.

"Aww, you look like a sad little puppy," he mocked, "What's the matter buddy? Does your owner not love you anymore? Are you lonely?"

Adam and Jason were cracking up in the background. They shouted out names like 'runt' and 'mutt' and barked loudly.

"You poor little doggy," C.J. continued, "Do you wanna play? Is that it? Wanna play with big old' C.J.?"

He grabbed Olivia's head and made it nod.

"Good girl!" he laughed, "Let's play fetch then! You do play fetch right? See the stick?"

He forced Olivia to look over at Adam, who had a large stick in his hand. Adam waved the stick in front of her face, and then threw it in the pond.

"Uh oh, looks like Adam's gonna make you swim for this one. Go get it girl! Go on! Go get it!"

He positioned Olivia under his arm and swung her backwards.

"Go on, mutt!" he shouted, swinging her forward, "Fetch!"

And he hauled Olivia into the pond head first.

Olivia held her breath. The water was cold as ice, and it seemed to bite her skin. She swam up to the top, but her head was blocked by something big and heavy. The boys must have blocked the way she had come in with something. She had to find the hole Adam had made, or she'd drown. She had no choice but to open her eyes.

The water stung her eyes as she looked around. She saw almost complete darkness. She felt her lungs ache, she needed to breathe soon. She suddenly saw a patch of light and swam toward it. She popped her head out of the hole and took a deep breath.

However, the hold was still only small enough for her head to fit through. She couldn't get out. The ice was thick, but just thin enough so that she could break it if she used all her strength. She rammed her head to one side, cutting a gash in her cheek. She had to be careful not to damage her temple, or she would die.

She continued to smash her cheek into the ice until the hole was big enough to fit her shoulders through. She grabbed hold of the ground nearby and pulled herself out, cutting herself with the ice all the way.

She lied on the ground and tried to catch her breath. She was soaking wet and covered with blood. She had no idea how to get to school from here, and she defiantly couldn't go like this. She'd just have to go back to Equestria.


	3. Into Action

_**Yay! Chapter 3! Okay so, the last chapter was**** kind of scary, (my stories are not for those with weak hearts), And this chapter is basically the after effects. I still have this feeling I'm taking this story too fast. If I am, please let me know, and I'll slow it down a little. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys.  
><strong>_

Olivia felt her knees hit the ground. She wanted to stand and look around, but she was too weak. She fell onto her stomach, panting loudly. Never had it taken so much energy to travel back to Equestria. Blood was still pouring from her cheek, and she was starting to get dizzy.

Suddenly, she heard hoof-steps coming her way. She attempted to stand and hide, but her legs had lost all feeling. She clawed at the ground and tried to pull herself behind a tree, and she managed a little. She sat and waited for some sort of sign that she was safe.

Her vision was going double, then triple. She heard the pony getting closer, and it was only a matter of time now. If she were lucky, the pony wouldn't notice and walk on by. Unfortunately, judging by what had happened just ten minutes before, she wasn't a very lucky person.

"What in the world?" she heard a voice say.

It was getting harder to hold her eyes open. Everything seemed to be spinning around her. Applebloom was right, she wasn't okay. She was never okay, but no pony would ever find out until it was too late. That was the way it had always been, and always will be.

The hoof steps came toward her and came to a halt. There was a voice that seemed as if it was a thousand miles away, it was screaming.

"Olivia?" She heard the voice ask shakily.

She saw whisks of a purple mane, and then everything turned to black.

* * *

><p>Twilight held a warm towel to Olivia's cheek, which was bleeding heavily. Olivia flinched in pain, though still unconscious. Twilight had panicked thoughts racing through her mind, most of which asking "What in Equestria happened?"<p>

Twilight hadn't seen Olivia this much in pain since Fluttershy had found her, and even then that was mostly from starvation. Now she was cut, bruised, and bleeding to death. And that wasn't all. Twilight had found her not only covered in blood, but soaking wet and freezing.

Hadn't they kept Olivia to make sure she never got hurt again? Who let this happen? How did this happen? Then a sudden realization came to her mind. Olivia was supposed to be in the human world at that moment. Something must have happened there. She remembered the books she read about humans, and how they'd fight over the stupidest things. Had Olivia been fighting?

No. Olivia knew better. Olivia had been taught better. She would never hurt a fly. But then, what could have happened? Twilight looked down at the towel she was holding, which was now soaked with blood. This wasn't working. She needed more help.

"WHAT?" Twilight heard over the receiver.

"I know, Rainbow. And it's too serious to take care of myself. I need you to come take her to the hospital," she replied

"Did you tell Applejack yet?"

"Well… no…"

"So you're saying she has absolutely no idea that her daughter is dying right now."

Twilight bit her lip and looked over at Olivia. Her expression wasn't as pained, but her cheek was still bleeding heavily. And even though there were piles of blankets over her, she was still shivering.

"Rainbow," Twilight said suddenly, "We don't have time to talk about this. I'll tell her later. You have to hurry. I have no idea how much longer Olivia can hold on."

That sent Rainbow Dash into action. She immediately dropped the phone and flew off toward Twilight's house. She couldn't let Olivia die. Not now. She still had so much to live for. But little did she know, another little one was listening in on the conversation.

Scootaloo had tears in her eyes as she flew down toward Ponyville. She had to find the Crusaders and tell them what happened. Then they had to break the news to Applejack. Olivia was in trouble, big trouble, and no one knew why.

* * *

><p>Rainbow Dash flew with full speed. At just the sight of Olivia, she panicked. She didn't even say a word to Twilight before she grabbed Olivia and took off. She felt Olivia's blood trickling off her wing. Had the bandage already leaked through?<p>

Rainbow suddenly felt Olivia stir in her sleep. She gently slowed down. She looked up at the sleeping girl to see a look of panic on her face. She was crying

"Olivia?" Rainbow called softly.

Olivia was still asleep. Rainbow couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't seen Olivia act like this in a long, long time. Sure, she still had a few recurring nightmares about her father, but none had scared her this bad since he was still alive.

She was now arguing with herself. She didn't know whether to sit down in a tree somewhere and wake her, or keep flying before the injuries got worse. But just before Rainbow Dash could decide, Olivia's eyes shot open.

She gasped in shock. Going through that whole process earlier was one thing, but reliving it again was another. Suddenly, reality hit her. She was in the sky, the air passing by her blew her hair back, and whipped her face. Unfortunately, that wasn't the best feeling when you had a gash in your cheek.

Olivia hollered from the sudden pain. Rainbow Dash came to a sudden halt and lowered to the ground.

"Olivia! Are you alright?" Rainbow asked in panic.

Olivia clenched her sore cheek, which was still bleeding heavily. She was even colder than before, probably because of the cold air. She couldn't stop shivering. The hot blood running down her neck and arm stung her freezing skin.

Rainbow stared up at the girl, who didn't seem to even give notice that she was there. She wanted to comfort Olivia, but she didn't have very much time. Olivia was already losing too much blood, and she couldn't afford to lose much more.

"Hang on tight, kid," Rainbow said finally, "We're gonna go get you some help. Don't worry, you're gonna be fine."

That statement sent a shiver down Rainbow's spine. She wanted to believe what she had just said, but what if Olivia wasn't fine? What if Twilight had found her too late? What if she didn't fly fast enough and didn't arrive in time? What if there was nothing the doctors could do for her?

Rainbow shook her head. Everything would be okay, it just had to be. Olivia had survived plenty in the past, and she had gotten through it just fine. She looked up at the girl. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks and blood covered her trembling hand.

Rainbow flew faster. She didn't have time to worry yet. She just had to get there, and fast.

* * *

><p>Twilight knocked on the door to Applejack's barn. She nervously looked up at the sky, silently asking Rainbow Dash to hurry.<p>

Applejack opened the door with a friendly smile, something Twilight was sure she wouldn't see again for a while.

"Well, howdy there Twi!" Applejack beamed, "What can I do for ya?"

"Applejack, there's something I have to tell you," Twilight said nervously.

Applejack, automatically understanding something serious was going on, opened the door wide and gestured for Twilight to step inside. Twilight entered the barn and sat at the nearby kitchen table.

"What's goin' on?" Applejack asked sitting down across from her.

"Well, I was out going to see Zecora today," Twilight started, "And right before I got into the Everfree forest, I saw this… well substance."

Applejack looked confused, "And? What was this substance?"

Twilight gulped. She really didn't have the heart to tell Applejack this story. That, and Applejacks reaction to it would be unpredictable. She took a deep breath and went on with her story.

"Blood," Twilight choked out, "Right before I entered the forest, I stepped in blood."

Applejack's eyes widened. Blood was very rare in Equestria, so to stumble upon some just lying there was very unusual.

"There was a trail of the stuff," Twilight continued, "And at the end of it…"

Twilight started to blank out. Applejack stared at her, a very confused look on her face. The suspense was almost unbearable, and the silence between them was deafening. But just as Twilight was about to open her mouth, a loud slam came from across the room.

They looked over to see all three Cutie Mark Crusaders, their faces full of panic and tear stains. Applebloom sprinted over to her sister.

"Applejack!" she whimpered loudly, "Olivia's in the hospital!"

Applejack coughed in surprise. She looked over to Twilight, who simply nodded.

"I called Rainbow to take her there a little while ago. I tried my best, but she wasn't getting any better."

Applejack played what she had just heard over and over again in her mind, as if she was trying to actually comprehend what was going on. Why was Olivia in the hospital? What could have possibly happened? Why wasn't Olivia at school in the first place?

All of those questions went unanswered, and she soon forgot them. All that made sense to her was one thing, Olivia was in trouble.

Her mind flashed back to five years ago, flipping through every single time she had seen Olivia hurt. Her mind almost couldn't bear it. Then came the one thing that not only had she forgotten about, but shocked her into complete panic. The night before, when she had uncovered Olivia's swollen eye.

This flashed her back to reality, where four other ponies sit staring at her, wondering what she was going to do. But she didn't notice a single one of them. She immediately turned around and burst out the door, fast as her hooves could take her.

"Hang in there, sugar cube," Applejack thought, "I'm comin' for ya."


	4. Heart Monitor

_**Okay, here's chapter 4! I realize that this is nowhere near as good as Magic is Mystery, but I will tell you more problems will occur as the story progresses. Thanks for staying supportive and please review! All criticism is welcome. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys.**_

"Olivia? Olivia, can you hear me?"

Rainbow Dash's voice sounded muffled and far away. A loud beeping sound was heard close to her ear, and it was deafening. She slowly opened her eyes to reveal nothing but blinding white light. She whimpered and tried to rub her eyes, but for some reason she couldn't move her hands.

Rainbow reached out and touched Olivia's shoulder, attempting to calm her down.

"It's okay… I'm right here," Rainbow whispered.

She had never been the best at the whole parenting thing, due to her tomboyish ways. But Olivia responded to it, and that's all that mattered.

Olivia's breathing started to slow down, and she stopped trembling. Rainbow Dash grinned. The doctors hadn't quite figured out what needed to be done yet. The first thing they panicked about was the blue tint in her lips, and they knew right away that hypothermia was setting in. Everything else, they weren't quite sure about, since Olivia wasn't a pony.

Her cheek was currently stuffed with gauzes and covered in bandages to stop the bleeding, while blankets were wrapped tightly around her. But, for some reason, no matter how hard they tried, her temperature just wouldn't go up.

They also had Olivia strapped to her hospital bed, due to waking up in complete deliria from time to time. She would wake up and scream for Applejack, or Sadie, or sometimes, she would even ask if she could see her mom. It broke Rainbow's heart every time the question was asked.

Olivia also kicked and lashed at times. She would cry and scream about her dad coming for her. Rainbow had tried to calm her down, but it wasn't any use. Olivia didn't even have the slightest idea Rainbow was there. These outbursts would raise Olivia's heart rate, and eventually the only choice was to strap her to the bed.

Rainbow watched for almost half an hour as Olivia slipped in and out of consciousness. When she was awake, which usually wasn't for very long, she would talk nonsense and ask to see anypony that came to her mind, From Twilight to Derpy. She would even ask for Rainbow Dash at some points, even though she was sitting right in front of her the entire time.

When she was asleep, she would toss and shiver. Rainbow couldn't tell if she was cold, in pain, or even just having another nightmare. It was hard to wake her up while she was sick like this, so she would just have to let the nightmares slide and calm Olivia down if she could.

It wasn't long before Nurse Redheart walked in the room with a pitiful smile on her face.

"There's someone here to see Olivia," she said softly, as to not disturb the sleeping girl in front of her.

Rainbow already had a feeling of who it might be. She heaved a sigh and stroked Olivia's hair.

"Send them in," Rainbow replied, not taking her gaze off of Olivia.

Immediately, Applejack burst in the room from behind the nurse. At first, her face was full of determination and panic, but at the very sight of Olivia, her expression softened. Tears nearly flooded her eyes as she took in the sight before her.

There was Olivia, the girl she had found dying in the Everfree forest, which she had learned to care for and love so much, lying in a hospital bed looking pale as the white blankets that covered her. Dark red blood stained the bandages on her cheek, and her lips were a pale purple color.

Applejack couldn't fight the urge to sob as she ran over and hugged the little girl. Why her? Hadn't the poor girl already been through enough in life? Why did the worst of life seem to love her the most?

Twilight slowly walked in the door a few minutes later, her face full of concern.

"She looks even worse now," she sighed, "Have the doctors even done anything for her?"

"Not yet," Rainbow replied, "She's human, so they're not exactly sure what to do for her."

Applejack looked up in shock. Not sure what to do? She had treated Olivia thousands of times, and they didn't even know where to start? A little bit of rage started to burn inside her. She took in a sharp breath to shout something, but then Olivia whimpered.

Everypony quickly looked down at the girl. She attempted to turn over, but the straps prevented it. Her eyes fluttered open slowly.

Applejack was already switched over to parent mode, and her planned outburst was forgotten. She lifted the blankets closer to Olivia's chin and began to softly hush her.

Olivia opened her eyes and looked around. That annoying beeping noise was back again, and this time it was ten times more irritating. That's when she realized, everypony was staring at her. That was a sight she hadn't seen in a while.

"Good Morning," she said weakly, and a little confused.

It suddenly hit her, a sharp pain ripped through her cheek. She gasped at it was all coming back to her. She hadn't held up her side of the deal, and she had to pay for it. Then she went back to Equestria and passed out. But where was she now?

She glanced to the left, and there was a heart monitor. That's what the stupid beeping noise was. She was in the hospital. She groaned. This wasn't going to end well.

"How ya doin', sugar cube?" Applejack asked softly.

Olivia sighed, "Okay. My cheek kinda hurts though, and I'm a little cold."

She couldn't make things seem too bad. They were already going to know something was up, but if she could ease down the injuries a little the excuse wouldn't have to be as detailed.

Applejack nodded. After hearing the reports from Twilight earlier, that's what she had expected. She still wondered had could have happened, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. For now, she just had to make sure Olivia was alright. The hospital workers had barely done a thing for her yet, and that needed to be fixed.

"Twilight, get me a hot wash cloth and a thermometer," she demanded suddenly.

Twilight simply nodded and teleported her first aid kit over to Applejack. When it came to Olivia, Applejack meant business. The smartest thing was to not get in her way.

Applejack slowly but carefully ripped the bandage from Olivia's cheek, then took the washcloth and cleaned the cut. Olivia winced in pain, but Applejack shushed her and gently kept working. After the blood had been cleaned, all that remained was a pink gash. Applejack took new gauzes and gently placed them on the cut then put two new bandages over them.

Next she went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out five heating packs. She quickly rubbed them to warm them up. She placed two on Olivia's hands, two by her legs, and one on her forehead.

"I think you'd better get back to sleep now," Applejack whispered.

Olivia wanted to protest, but she didn't have enough energy. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off again. Applejack smiled.

"Now, if these hospital ponies couldn't even get that far, she might as well just come home," she growled.

Applebloom and her friends came in the room and stared. None of them wanted to believe she was where she was, especially Applebloom. She walked up to the bed and hugged Olivia. Why had she gone along with Olivia's plan that morning? She knew something was wrong.

"Are you alright, Applebloom?" Twilight asked the filly.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, "This is my fault," she whimpered.

Applejack shook her head, "No it's not Applebloom. You didn't know."

"Yes I did," Applebloom sobbed, "This morning she had a black eye. She told me that we couldn't let anyone else see it. That's why I told you to check on the orchard. That's why she left early."

Everypony stared at Applebloom in awe. Applejack flashed back to that morning and remembered how surprised she was when she found out Olivia was already gone. Had Olivia known this was going to happen?

"It's alright Applebloom," she sighed, "You didn't know this was going to happen. None of this is your fault."

Twilight walked over to the sleeping little girl. When they had first found her, she knew that Olivia was hiding something. It turned out to be the most serious thing she had ever heard. If she was hiding something again, she shuddered to think what could happen next.


	5. World of Shock

_**Heyheyhey! Welcome to chapter 5! Okay, so in this chapter, we get to see a little mix up :D Human world again, only this time some others come along! Conflict number two shows up here! Hooray! Please Review!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys.**_

About a week had passed. Olivia's lips were finally their normal color and her temperature wasn't as low. The cut on her cheek was a mere scab now. Following Applejacks example, the nurses got work done quickly and easily, much to the relief of the other ponies.

When the time had come to let Olivia go, she was already anxious to start moving around again. She had been cooped up in that hospital bed so long, she couldn't stand it anymore.

She stepped outside into the cool, fresh air, her legs still a bit wobbly from sitting in a bed so long. Her first instinct was to start running. But before she could, Applejack reached out and held her back by the collar of her shirt.

"Take an easy there, sugar cube," she sighed, "I know yer anxious, but you just got outta the hospital. Slow it down a bit."

Olivia sighed, but agreed all the same. She was actually still just a bit woozy from all the pain medication, and she didn't really want to argue. She slowed herself down to a walk and headed back toward Sweet Apple Acers.

It was a little strange being back there. Sure, it was her home, but the last time she was there was over a week ago. She shuttered at the events that followed. She was an idiot not to keep up her side of the deal.

That's when it hit her. She had completely forgotten how serious her situation was while she was in the hospital. Now everypony knew something was up.

She heard the door shut behind her, and she gulped. There was no getting out of this talk. She turned to see all six of the older ponies staring at her, a hint of concern in their faces. Olivia tried to act as if this didn't faze her, but her eyes turned dark blue.

Applejack sighed a little, dark blue meant nervous. Something she had noticed about Olivia's eyes is that most negative emotions were a shade of blue. Light blue meant that she was scared, pale blue meant she was sad, and so on.

The ponies quickly separated, each standing in a different place in the kitchen. Olivia's eyes darted around. They stood covering every exit. Rainbow sat on the stairs, Pinkie stood in front of the living room, Twilight took the window, Rarity blocked the basement door, and Fluttershy blocked the front door. That left Applejack standing in the center of the room, just a foot away from where Olivia stood. There was no getting out.

Olivia staggered back into one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table. Her heart skipped a little. Applejack's stern look turned into a concerned smile as she knelt down by Olivia.

"There's no reason to be afraid, sugar cube. It's just us," she said in a comforting tone.

Olivia took a deep breath, but she was still woozy. She didn't know whether it was from being nervous or from the pain medication, but the world seemed to spin around her. She gripped the table to keep her head from falling forward.

Fluttershy stared at the young girl. She could tell that Olivia was nervous from the beginning, but now something really seemed to be different about her. She looked over and suddenly noticed Olivia's grip on the table. Her eyes widened and she trotted up next to Applejack.

Applejack had a confused look on her face. Fluttershy was supposed to be blocking the front door, for just in case reasons. Fluttershy knelt down in front of Olivia and nuzzled her hand.

"Applejack… I don't… well, I think it would be best if we talked to Olivia later," she said quietly.

"Why?" Applejack asked. Then she looked up at Olivia only to see that her eyelids were drooping.

"I just don't think she's in the best… condition at the moment," Fluttershy sighed.

Olivia silently thanked Fluttershy for her understanding, and for giving her a little bit more time to think. She noticed all the ponies coming in close to her, all with sympathetic smiles. She looked once into Applejacks green eyes, and then the world turned black.

Olivia's grip on the table loosened, and she began to fall forward. Twilight noticed this and immediately knelt down where Olivia was about to fall, causing her to land belly-first on Twilight's back.

"How'd ya know that was gonna happen, Shy?" Applejack whispered.

"The nurse had said she would still be a bit groggy," Fluttershy sighed, "Plus, we were making her really nervous as is."

Applejack thought about the plan they had made, and admitted it was a little bit far. But they hadn't had to ask Olivia something this serious in a long while, and she wasn't such a defenseless little kid anymore. She could be capable of doing more now. She looked down at now unconscious Olivia and sighed. Something was telling her Olivia wasn't exactly as strong as she let on.

* * *

><p>Olivia felt herself waking up, and she groaned slightly. She swore she heard hoof steps, but when she tried to confirm it there was nothing but complete silence. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. She was in her room, lying on her bed. She looked at her clock, to find it was five in the morning.<p>

At first, she just wanted to go back to sleep. Then she started thinking about what happened right before she passed out. She sighed; she really couldn't explain what was going on to Applejack. What if she got mad about Olivia hiding things from her again?

She got out of bed and started to write Applejack a note.

_-Mom-_

_I'm feeling better, and heading to school early. Just in case I missed something. See you when I get back, and I promise I'll be perfectly fine this time._

_-Olivia_

Olivia put the note on the kitchen table and grabbed an apple. She was going to school early for a lot of reasons, so what she had written wasn't exactly a lie; it just wasn't completely the truth. The main reason she was going was so she could think just a little while longer. She approached the portal and let herself fall inside of it.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders poked their heads out of the bushes.

"Do you really think this is such a good idea, Applebloom?" Sweetie bell questioned.

Applebloom confirmed with a stern nod of her head, "Positive. She left early the morning she got hurt, so something must be goin' on."

Scootaloo stared at the portal and gulped. Olivia had said some terrible things about the human world and in pretty graphic detail too. But even then, she had absolutely no idea what to expect.

The three fillies nodded at each other, and then slowly approached the portal. It was strange. I seemed like a pond that was up against a tree, only the water was weird shades of green and pink.

"Okay… on the count of three," Scootaloo announced nervously. The other two fillies nodded in agreement.

"One… two… THREE!"

They held their breaths and jumped into the portal. It was an insane and almost terrifying feeling. They felt like they were falling, but at the same time they could barely move. It was like being frozen alive and falling off a cliff. The strange pink and green water was all around them, and suddenly everything flashed white.

Scootaloo felt her hooves land on something. She opened her eyes and looked around. What she saw might've been even more terrifying than the fall. The sky was almost completely black, and the streets were filled with dirt and what looked like broken grass. It was hard for her to breathe. She looked over at her two friends and confirmed that they were feeling the same way that she was.

"Look!" Sweetie whispered, "There's Olivia!"

They all looked over to see Olivia walking in the opposite direction from them. She had an apple in her hand and she dragged her feet along the sidewalk. The fillies followed her as quiet as they possibly could. Thankfully, Olivia didn't notice.

Olivia turned away from the park. She would have to go there eventually, but she had to make sure she kept up her side of the deal first. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she walked into an empty alleyway.

The fillies peeked around the corner of the alley. What was Olivia doing in a dark place like this? Suddenly, a man in a worn out hoodie appeared out of the darkness with a grim smirk on his face. The girls strained their ears to hear what they were talking about, but it was no use. All they could do was watch.

They saw Olivia pull out what looked like money, but it looked a lot different from bits. They managed to hear the man count sixty dollars, then he smiled and handed Olivia something out of his pocket.

It was a small plastic bag filled with… leaves? All three fillies stared at it in confusion. But before they could have any idea as to what it was, Olivia began to walk out of the alley. They all scrambled behind a bench and watched as Olivia walked by them.

"What do you think he gave her?" Scootaloo asked her friends.

"I really don't know, Scoot," Applebloom sighed, "I don't know anythin' about the human world. Whatever is in that bag is beyond me."

Just then, Sweetie bell came up with an idea, "Hey, maybe Twilight knows something about it! She's read a lot of books, right? She probably knows something about the humans."

With that, the three of them made their way back to the portal. They needed to head back to Equestria and ask Twilight if she knew anything.

* * *

><p>"It's been a while, pipsqueak," C.J. ominously laughed.<p>

Olivia staggered back, but she bumped into something. She felt something grab her arms and pin them to her back. She winced in pain as her feet left the ground.

Jason kept one hand holding Olivia's tiny arms together while his other arm went around her neck in a dangerously tight hold. C.J. smiled as Olivia was brought right up to his face.

"Let's hope you didn't make the same mistake as last time," he giggled, "Bring her in."


	6. What's that mean?

_**Chapter 6! Sorry this took so long, but I needed some way to fit other characters into the story more. Anyway, you guys all reacted to the 'leaves', and most likely know what they are. How will things play out from here? Read on my brothers!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

"Twilight, what does this word mean?" Scootaloo asked holding up her book for Twilight to see.

The fillies had arrived back in Equestria just over an hour ago, and they immediately started searching for clues as to what that man gave Olivia. There were now plenty of books about humans; Twilight had been collecting for years, but they couldn't seem to find any answers.

Twilight looked down to the book Scootaloo was holding. It was titled 'In the Ghetto', and the picture on the covered showed an empty, worn out street covered in cigarettes and broken bottles.

"Do you mean Ghetto? Well, according to human terms, it's basically a place in the human world where there's a lot of bad people," Twilight tried to explain as simply as possible.

Twilight had gotten that book a long while back and only really bothered to read the first few pages. She wanted to learn about the human world only to help Olivia survive. 'In the Ghetto' scared the wits out of Twilight, and she refused to read anymore.

Scootaloo made her way back to the table with the other two fillies, and explained what Twilight had just told her.

"Well, maybe the place Olivia went was a Ghetto," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"It DID seem like a pretty bad place…" Applebloom said, her voice wandering off.

Scootaloo popped open the cover and began reading, her imagination running wild at every sentence she spoke. They eventually got to the page they were looking for. The picture showed a dark alley, much like the one Olivia had walked into. Scootaloo went on reading.

"In most horror stories, it talks about one or two boys walking into an alleyway. For people native to the city, that would be the stupidest mistake you could make. Alleyways are dark and secretive, so it's the perfect place for gangs to hang out, or criminals to hide. The one thing most alleys are known for, however, is drug dealers.

Drug dealers are people who sell illegal drugs. Some dealers do it for the money, and others do it because their addicted themselves, and have nothing better to do. Some of the drugs they sell include pot, heroin, LSD, and marijuana."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Sweetie Belle interrupted, "So, that man was a drug dealer? Why was Olivia buying drugs?"

"What're drugs anyhow?" Applebloom questioned.

Scootaloo turned the pages until she found a chapter about illegal drugs. She scanned the chapter for a while until she found the little plastic bag of leaves.

* * *

><p>Olivia kept her eyes closed as tight as she could. The boys had begun carrying her deeper and deeper into the park, the place she had feared to even go near for the longest time. She was too afraid of what she'd find here to ever explore it. She heard the boys laughing as the air somehow got thinner. She tried to keep her breathing steady, when suddenly Jason's arms disappeared and she fell to the ground.<p>

"Open your eyes twerp!" Adam bellowed.

Olivia felt a sharp pain in her back as Jason stabbed into it with a large stick. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see the tip of a sneaker hurling toward her. Everything flashed red as pain surged through her nose. She heard the boys laugh.

"Alright," C.J. sighed, "Get the little shit a chair."

She felt herself being lifted from the ground again, only this time just by one arm holding the pit of her stomach. Her arms and head dangled down by her feet. Just then she felt herself slowly being lowered. There was now even more pain in her back, for what the boys decided was her 'chair' was really just an old skateboard. She felt herself tighten onto it, and assumed the boys had tied her there.

She finally took a moment to look at her surroundings. She was now deep in a forest. The sun was peeking through the leaves above her head. At any other time, this would've looked rather pretty, but fear overpowered any sense of beauty this forest had.

Before she had a chance to look at anything else, the skateboard was flipped and her face was flat on the ground. She feared that one of the boys would step on the board, but then she felt herself being pulled upward.

She gulped as she was nose to nose with C.J., and then pulled even higher. She struggled against whatever bound her to the board, but it was no use. She was now hanging a good eight or nine feet off the ground, just too where the boys had the reach of her ankles down.

"How's the weather up there, kid?" Jason called up to her as he removed her shoes.

Olivia didn't dare to look down. Something terrible was in store down there, and not even she had the courage to face it. She then felt something latch around her left ankle.

"Seems complicated, doesn't it squirt?" C.J. laughed, "Not really though, all we had to do was throw the jump rope over the branch and pull! It's not like you weigh anything more than a twig anyway."

"But maybe if we added a little something, you wouldn't have that little problem…" Adam giggled.

Suddenly, whatever was on her ankle felt heavier. She felt herself start to bob a little bit. Though she knew she would regret it, she slowly looked down. There was some sort of chain tied to her ankle, and a lock seemed to be added. That was the extra weight. Her eyes widened as she looked farther down. There was a sort of trench dug, and a hose was placed at the top. Her eyes followed the running water to a pool of… mud? That was it?

No, there had to be something more to it. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't get any other result. It was only mud. Still, though, she didn't want to take any chances. She took a deep breath and listened to what the boys were saying.

"Like I said," C.J. started, "You better not have made the same mistake as last time. If you did, we'll add more locks. The rope will snap, and you'll fall to the mudslide."

Jason and Adam started to laugh at this. "And once you reach the pool at the bottom, well let's just say you'll be about as good as a sewer rat."

Just then, Jason grabbed a large stick and swung as hard as he could. Olivia was hit square in the jaw and began to swing. Jason hit again, and got the same result.

"Whoa-ho!" C.J. mused, "Did you really make this mistake again, kid? I thought we taught you better."

A third hit came, and the plastic bags fell out of her pocket. The boys dove straight for the bags and shoved as many as they could grab into their shirts. It looked like three little boys picking up candy from a piñata, only the candy was replaced with fresh marijuana.

"Pity," C.J. sighed, "I was kind of looking forward to watching the pipsqueak squirm. Whatever, cut the ropes."

Olivia's eyes widened at the words. The world started to spin around her, and she saw the ground suddenly rush straight toward her face.

* * *

><p>"Rarity! Can I ask you a question?" Sweetie Belle asked smiling.<p>

"Hm? Oh yes darling, go right ahead," Rarity replied. She was busy sewing one of her newest designs for a very important client.

"What's Marijuana?"

Rarity suddenly froze in shock, "Where on earth did you hear that word, Sweetie Belle?"

"Well, we kina' got curious and followed Olivia to human land, then she went and gave this guy money and…" Applebloom started to explain, but was interrupted by Rarity's sudden gasp.

"You don't mean… no, this can't be right," Rarity tried to convince herself.

"We didn't know what the stuff was that she bought, so we looked it up in Twilight's library," Scootaloo finished.

Rarity had no idea what to say. Olivia was buying drugs? Why? Come to think of it, they had never taught Olivia about drugs in her lessons there in Equestria. But that was because nopony ever thought she'd get a hold of any.

Something had to be done. She thought of just going and telling the others, but that would be a little sudden. They had already scared Olivia into passing out the night before. She didn't want to startle the poor thing even more. Still, this was a very serious issue. That's when she got an idea.

* * *

><p>Olivia stepped out of the portal and sighed. It had been a long, hard day, but she had managed to make it out alright this time. The boys had went easy on her, since she had actually brought them their stuff, and she had managed to get to Tara's place and clean herself off before school.<p>

Really though, she was just happy to be back home. She began walking toward Sweet Apple Acres, when a purple glow blocked her path.


	7. Burning Stares

_**It's time to start the music! It's time to light the lights! It's time to meet the mane 6 on some fanfiction tonight! This chapter has some more Rarity in it! YAAAYY! *Sorry for all the Muppet references. I'm bored :D* Alright here we go! This is what we call Chapter 7!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! (Or the Muppets.) The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

Olivia couldn't move an inch. She was completely frozen in place. Her heart started to pound as images of that morning came rushing back to her. It felt as if she was tied to that skateboard all over again. She tried to move her hands, her feet, and didn't succeed in either. Her face went completely pale.

"Relax, darling. It's just me," Rarity's voice was heard from her left side.

Olivia breathed a heavy sigh of relief as reality came back to her. She was expecting Rarity to just let her down right then and there, but she didn't. All she could do was stare as Rarity slowly walked in front of her with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"What's been bothering you so much, darling?" Rarity sighed, "It's like you're afraid of your own shadow…"

She began to walk into town, all the while pulling Olivia behind her with her magic. Olivia's heart began to pound again. Why did Rarity freeze her? What was going on? She watched as the whole town passed by her. She felt other ponies burning stares. She wanted to close her eyes and look away, but she couldn't.

Rarity calmly walked into her boutique and up the stairs, being careful to hide her worried expression. It had just hit her then how strange Olivia had been acting recently. It all started just a couple weeks before Olivia was put in the hospital, or had it been longer? Olivia would be startled by any sudden noise or feeling. Whenever Pinkie Pie would show up, Olivia would jump right out of her skin.

As soon as Rarity safely reached her room and shut the door, she released Olivia who immediately crumpled to the floor.

"Couldn't I have just rode on your back, Rarity?" Olivia complained while panting.

Rarity knelt down to Olivia and softly smiled. As carefully as she could, she reached out and lifted Olivia's chin with her hoof and looked into her eyes.

What she saw was something she hadn't seen in a long time: fear. Olivia's eyes were a bright shade of neon blue. This color rarely showed in Olivia's eyes anymore. Sure, she would be startled from time to time, and her eyes would turn dark blue, but never this bright shade. This basically meant she was terrified.

She couldn't hide her concern as she pulled Olivia in close to her, "What's the matter? I didn't really scare you that badly, did I?"

Olivia was too lost in thought to answer or even hug back. What was this all about? The way all those ponies were staring at her just now felt odd. Something was really off in their stares. They looked almost angry, but confused at the same time. They were glares like they were trying to burn holes in her skin.

Her mind snapped back to reality when she felt her head on a pillow. She looked up to see that Rarity had laid her down on her bed.

"Olivia, has something been bothering you?" Rarity asked while gently stroking Olivia's hair.

"R-Rarity," Olivia stared nervously, "Why… why was everypony staring at me like that?"

Rarity looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Olivia sat up a little bit and glanced toward the window, "All of them. On the way back here… they were just staring at me… like there was something wrong with me…"

Rarity gently pushed Olivia's head back onto the pillow, "Nopony was looking at you strangely, darling. I was watching them as well. Now, why don't we just calm down a little and tell Rarity what's wrong."

Olivia wasn't ready to give in that easily. She saw it, with her own eyes. She could still feel her stomach churning from having to stare back. Something was off. She started to slide herself off the bed, but Rarity got in her way.

"Honestly, Olivia," Rarity sighed, raising her voice just a little.

"I know what I saw, Rarity!" Olivia interrupted, standing to face Rarity, "Those weren't normal stares! They were looking at me like I was an animal!"

It hit Olivia then, for the first time since she was sent to Equestria. She was an animal, to the ponies at least. Nothing like her had ever been seen in Equestria before she showed up. She felt dizzy. She looked up at Rarity, to see a pony staring back at her. Her vision started to blur and she stumbled forward.

"Olivia!" Rarity shouted. She held out her fore hooves and allowed Olivia to fall into them.

Olivia stared up at Rarity, trying to put things together in her head. She was a human. She lived in a perfect world full of ponies. All this time she had felt like one of them, like she belonged with them. Now, she wasn't so sure.

"Olivia!" Rarity repeated, calling out to the girl, "Please, say something!"

Olivia stared back up that Rarity with a blank expression. She was in complete shock. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't. She saw Rarity start to fade, and she blacked out.

Rarity stared wide eyed at the little girl in her hooves. What had just happened? She carefully felt Olivia's forehead, which was slightly warm. She removed Olivia's hoodie and laid her back on the bed. While staring at the little girl with very concerned eyes, she threw the hoodie across the room. But instead of the soft noise she expected, she heard a sort of crunching sound.

She carefully went over and examined the hoodie. It just seemed like the regular black one she had made a couple of months ago. She smiled and hugged it close, only to hear the crunching noise again. Only this time, she felt it. It seemed more like a wrinkling noise. There was something in the pocket.

She reached a shaking hoof into the small pocket, and pulled out what seemed to be a plastic bag. There was a hole in the bottom of it, and whatever was in it must've fallen out. At first, Rarity was confused, but then there was a strong smell coming from the bag. This was a smell that could only be recognized as one thing: Marijuana.

She dropped the bag and staggered back. The fillies were telling the truth; Olivia had bought drugs while she was in the human world. She looked over at the little girl sleeping on the bed. She looked paler now, and then she began to cough.

Rarity rushed over to the girl and laid a hoof on her heart. She felt the steady beating of the girls heart begin to quicken, but then fell back to its normal rhythm. Olivia stopped coughing and turned to her side. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the blankets up to Olivia's chin.

She didn't have time to worry about the drugs. She had orders to fill, dresses to sew, and most importantly a little girl to watch over. There had to be a better explanation for the plastic bag, even if it had held Marijuana and one time. She pondered over the idea for a second, then shrugged it off and left the room, closing the door behind her. Olivia needed to rest, and Rarity had work to do.

* * *

><p>"Come on Liv, why won't you pick up?" Tara growled at her cell phone.<p>

Tara was your average eighth grade girl. She had dirty blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and light freckles that usually showed up better in the light. She was about a year older than Olivia, give or take, and had been best friends with her ever since Olivia was put in school.

Tara, however, had absolutely no idea that Olivia lived in Equestria. All she knew was that Olivia lived sort of far away and she lived with not only her mom but quite a few of her aunts. She knew that Olivia didn't have a father, but she didn't really know why. One thing she knew for sure was that no matter how much she begged, Tara was never allowed to come over, and that bugged her.

She re-dialed Olivia's number and pressed call again. She waited for a few rings until she finally heard a voice.

"Uh… Hello?" Tara didn't recognize this voice.

"Liv?" She asked into the receiver.

"Um… Olivia isn't really around right now. Is it important?"

"Well… kind of," Tara said, wondering who she was talking to and where Olivia was, "I need to ask her a question. It's kind of urgent."

"Uh, Alright. Hold on a second," the voice replied, sounding uneasy.

Tara heard footsteps running on the other line, and then she heard hushed voices. She strained her ear and tried to listen in.

"Someone wants to talk to Olivia. She said it's important," she heard the familiar voice say.

"Sweetie Belle," she heard an older voice say, "It's going to have to wait. Olivia's not in the condition to speak to anyone right now."

"What's she doing?"

There was a long pause, as if the older voice was debating whether to tell the younger voice what Olivia was actually doing.

"She's a little sick dear," the older voice finally sighed, "She's upstairs sleeping right now. It would be better if you didn't wake her."

Sick? That was unusual. Olivia was never sick, and she seemed fine that morning at school. A little jumpy, sure, but Olivia always had those types of days. Tara had grown so used to it that she didn't even think twice about it anymore.

"Sorry, but Olivia can't get to the phone right now. I could ask her the question for you if you want," the voice came back to the phone.

"Um, okay I guess," Tara said uneasily, "Say the question is from Tara. Ask her why I found her backpack downtown today. Ask her if she went down there and why. Oh, and tell her that Sadie is NOT happy about it."


	8. A Choice

_**Whoa! So sorry for the insanely long wait! D: I had a bad case of writers block…  
>That and I was also working on six other stories. I've kinda set of a fanfiction type thing at my school. I write one story to myself, someone reads it, and suddenly it's been passed from person to person and I had no idea. Now people are asking me for more. So that's what I've been up to lately. Enjoy this chapter! It's a little short, due to insane writers block -.- but I think the next chapter may be longer… Reviews are ALWAYS welcome!<strong>_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

Olivia slowly crept down the stairs of Rarity's home. When she had woken up, she had no idea what had happened. When she saw the empty plastic bag on the floor next to the bed, she knew somepony had seen something and took it the wrong way. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do about it, but she knew that she had to avoid the talk awaiting her in the morning, and the only way she could to that was to sneak out.

She tip-toed through Rarity's boutique while making sure not to leave any evidence that she had been there. She was so close to the door know that she could just barely reach the doorknob. She held her breath as she grabbed it. With a shaky grip, she slowly turned it and… the door opened. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Where do you think you're going?" She heard a voice ask from behind.

Olivia quickly turned around to see Rarity staring down at her intimidatingly.

"Just… out," Olivia muttered under her breath.

"Out, hm?" Rarity replied while walking in front of the door to block it, "Well, it's a little late for that, don't you think? I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow."

"But Rarity!" Olivia immediately began to whine, "It's IMPORTANT! I won't be gone long, I promise! Please Rarity, just for a little while."

Rarity watched as the little girl practically got down on her knees. She was in no mood to argue with the child, but there was no way that she was letting Olivia out so late at night, especially not after all the strange occurrences happening recently. If she was planning to go to the human world, she could just forget it. There was absolutely no way Rarity would let that happen. Unless…

"Fine," Rarity shrugged.

Olivia's eyes brightened as she leapt up to hug the white pony. She couldn't believe it had been so easy. Rarity usually stood her ground until the very end! Olivia had no idea how it had happened, but she had managed to put up a good argument-

"But," Rarity said while hugging back.

Olivia sighed. She should've seen that one coming. There was definitely going to be a catch, and knowing Rarity, Olivia wouldn't like it one bit.

"I'm coming with you," Rarity finished, eyeing the little girl.

"No," Olivia said flatly.

It was too dangerous. Olivia knew that she could cope with the human world, but she had no idea how Rarity would handle it. For all she knew, the pollution of the place could kill the pony! She didn't want to take any chances. It was too risky. Plus, the only reason she wanted to go out in the first place was to AVOID talking to Rarity.

"It's either I go, or neither of us go," Rarity urged, "It's your choice."

Olivia bit her lip, but then hung her head in defeat, "I… I guess I'll stay here…"

Rarity smiled as she lifted the little girl onto her back. She was quite impressed with herself for the plan she had just come up with. She had made it a win-win for herself. Though, she was a little disappointed that Olivia had decided to stay. She was curious about what Olivia would have done. But, this was for the better. Olivia had just gotten out of the hospital. She didn't need to go around hurting herself again.

"Hello?" Tara answered her phone enthusiastically. Olivia was calling. She was really started to get worried. When she didn't show up for school the day before, it had completely sent Tara into panic.

"Hey," Olivia replied, much to Tara's relief.

"Where the heck were you yesterday?" She questioned, "Sadie and I were going NUTS!"

"Sorry, my aunt told me to stay home. I was kinda sick."

"Well, are you feeling better now?"

"Yea," Olivia shrugged, "To tell you the truth I never really felt all that bad to begin with, but what Rarity says goes…"

"Rarity?"

"Ah… It's um... a nickname. Yea, we all call my aunt 'Aunt Rarity', cuz she's really pretty… and stuff."

"Oh, okay. Well, hey you wanna come over? I REALLY need help with this project…," Tara suggested, while trying to change the subject.

"Um… hold on a sec. Let me ask," Olivia replied.

Tara strained her ears. The 'kind of sick' excuse had come out of Olivia's mouth at least a thousand times. There was definitely something else going on. She waited a few seconds until she heard hushed voices.

"Rarity… can I go to a friend's?"

"Where?"

"You know…"

"Olivia! Didn't you hear a word I said yesterday? You just got out of the HOSPITAL! It was ridiculous of us to let you go back there the day after! And with the state you came home in? Nuh-uh. Young lady you will stay right here, do I make myself clear?"

Tara's eyes widened. The hospital? When did that happen? Olivia had been away for a while, but hadn't Sadie said that she was on vacation? Come to think of it, she was really out of it the other day when she came back.

"Hey, sorry, my aunt said that I can't come." Olivia sighed over the phone, interrupting Tara's train of thought.

"Oh… alright, I guess," Tara replied, still in shock from what she had just heard, "Maybe Sadie will be able to help me. Thanks anyway…"

"No problem. See you," And with that, Tara hung up her phone and stormed out the door.

"Tara, where are you going?" Tara's mother called from her bedroom.

"Sadie's!" Tara called back, "I need help with a science project!"

While it was true that Tara was heading to Sadie's house, her reasoning had been a complete lie. Something was going on with Olivia, and it was obvious now that Sadie knew something that Tara didn't. She had no idea what was going on, or why she hadn't been told about it, but she was determined to find out what it was. One way or another.


	9. Worried Sense

_**GAAHH**_**_! WHY DOES THIS STORY HAVE TO BE SO HARD TO WRITE? *SIghh* Hello readers. Again, I apologize for the incredibley long wait for this chapter, but I am excited to announce that it is quite a bit longer than the last one :)  
><em>**

**_I want to thank everyone who is still with me after my long breaks in between chapters, and I promise I'll try to speed things up a bit. I think I have enough inspiration now.  
><em>**

**_So, heres chapter 9  
><em>**

**_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, and Tara.  
><em>**

"Okay, we're all here now," Twilight announced while closing the barn door behind her.

The six ponies were each sitting in a circle on bales of hay in Applejack's barn. It had been years since they had put together a meeting like this, and they all felt uneasy about starting it up again. The last time they had a meeting; it was before they even knew about Olivia's father.

"So? What's going on? What's all the hub-bub, bub?" Pinkie practically sang in her normal manner.

"Yea, why are we all here?" Rainbow asked impatiently, still annoyed about being woken up from her nap.

Applejack glanced nervously around the room. She was the most uneasy out of them all. These meetings had always been about Olivia, and there weren't any signs of changing them.

Just then, Rarity sat up straight and began to speak, "Have any of you noticed how Olivia is acting… a little strangely?"

"Yes… but the doctors did say she'd be weak for the next couple of days…" Fluttershy half thought out loud.

"But even before she got into the hospital," Rarity continued, "She seems a bit… paranoid, for lack of better word."

"I haven't noticed anything," Rainbow spoke up.

"I think I might've," Twilight pondered, "During her lessons a couple weeks ago. The door opened and a couple of stallions came in. I don't know why, but Olivia seemed to jump right out of her skin. She was acting like she did back when we first found her…"

"Yea! I've seen Olivia do something just like that!" Pinkie suddenly announced, "Olivia had just come home from school and I was just hopping back to Sugar Cube Corner! I guess I just didn't see her walking and I bumped right into her! But instead of jumping back up, she just laid there on the ground! She looked like she just saw a ghost!"

Rarity nodded, this was exactly the behavior she was getting at, "Applejack, she's your daughter. Have you noticed anything?"

Applejack thought back for a moment. She hadn't really noticed anything too strange, nothing really up until the hospital incident, "Not really, I s'ppose. She seems happy as can be when she comes home from school."

"What about the day she was put in the hospital?" Rarity asked, "We never did get around to questioning her about that. What exactly happened on that day?"

Twilight glanced toward the ceiling, "I really have no idea. One minute I'm heading off to see Zecora, the next I find Olivia at the end of this huge trail of blood, half dead."

"But'chya found her pretty early right? School in the human land doesn't end till' four. Why was she even back in Equestria?" Applejack asked suddenly.

"Maybe… after whatever happened, she came back here to get help?" Fluttershy suggested.

"That is a possibility, but even so, what happened before she came back? Was it just an accident? Or was it… intentional?" Rarity exaggerated the last word.

"No! It couldn't be intentional!" Pinkie shouted, "The only person that cruel was her father, and he's dead!"

They all were silent. Was Nickolas Peterson actually dead? The princess said she had put him somewhere where nopony could find him, and he could find nopony, but was he actually dead? Was there a chance he could come back?

"There's… something else though…" Rarity muttered under her breath. Everypony instantly looked up at her. Now, she didn't have the heart to reveal the news about the Marijuana just yet, so she went to another issue, "I was getting rather worried about this strange behavior, so the other day, the day after she got out of the hospital, I went to her to see what was wrong."

"You asked her about it?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Well… yes, but not quite in a way you would imagine…"

They all stared awkwardly at her, very confused by the statement she had just made.

"As soon as she stepped out of the portal, well, I froze her with magic," Rarity confessed, still not sure whether she had done the right thing or not.

"Rarity-!" Applejack began to shout before Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over to see Fluttershy with a rather serious look on her face.

"Rarity… we agreed to wait until she was in a better condition to ask her anything," Fluttershy said in an out of character, yet still rather quiet tone, "You saw what happened last time."

"Well, I do realize that now," Rarity said with a hint of guilt, "But the way she reacted this time was far different."

Applejack shot a stern glance Rarity's way, "How did she react."

Rarity fiddled with her hooves, "Well, as soon as I unfroze her back in my home, she seemed fine at first. But, when I looked into her eyes… they were light blue."

Everypony looked at Rarity in shock, especially Applejack. They remembered this happening often when Olivia was younger, but they hadn't seen that color in a long time. Applejack was suddenly having flash memories of when she first tried to bring Olivia home, how many times she had seen that color change.

"Then she started complaining about how everypony was staring at her, like she was some sort of animal," Rarity continued as she relived the event in her mind, "She just… snapped. And before I could even say anything to her, she passed out."

Twilight suddenly stood up, "Something's definitely wrong, girls. And we can't sit around any longer."

"But…," Fluttershy began to protest.

"I know she just got out of the hospital, and none of us want to scare her, but this could be the only opportunity we have. If we wait until she's fully recovered, it could be a lot harder to get her to talk. She may still be harmless, but she's not the insanely fragile little girl she was five years ago."

"So are you saying we force her while she's down?" Rainbow accused, not liking Twilights way of thinking, "What'll she think then? She still trusts us, you know!"

"I think I'll have to agree with Twilight," Rarity said, standing as well, "It may seem cruel, but it is for her own good. Who knows what she could be hiding!"

The two groups argued rather loudly, Pinkie automatically joining forces with Rainbow. They lashed out at each other to a point where it was getting pretty off topic.

"GIRLS!" Applejack shouted from across the room.

Everypony froze except for Pinkie, who continued her rambling, "And then SHE said, 'Yes, oatmeal! And maybe I am'… oh"

"Thank ya'll," Applejack grunted, "If we keep on fightin' like this, we're never goin' to figure this out, are we?"

All four ponies looked down in shame, while Fluttershy slowly came out from behind her bale of hay which she had his behind in all the commotion.

"Now, though it pains me ta' say it, I have ta' agree with Twilight on this one."

Twilight smiled a little before looking back down when Applejack shot another glare her way.

"But," Applejack continued, "We do not need ta' be scaring the hay outta. Yes, we need ta' get off our flanks and start lookin' into this, but there's no need to force anythin' just yet."

"So… what should we do?" Fluttershy asked.

"We need ta' call an expert," Applejack announced.

The other five automatically under stood and all spoke in unison, "Sadie."

* * *

><p>"Hello, Tara!" Sadie's mother greeted as she opened the door, "What can I do for you?"<p>

"Is Sadie around?" Tara asked in a polite manner, "I need to ask her a question. It's kind of urgent."

"She's actually in the shower at the moment, but you can feel free to come in and wait for her if you'd like."

"That would be great, thank you."

Tara made her way into Sadie's bedroom with a lot on her mind. Something was going on with Olivia, and it was suddenly obvious that Sadie knew something. She had just made herself comfortable on Sadie's bed, when she heard a strange buzzing sound.

"Weird… last time I checked, Sadie didn't have a cell phone…"

She followed the buzzing noise to a little box on Sadie's dresser that seemed to have a lock on it. Fortunately, it was already open part way. Tara opened the box to reveal a small, golden colored rock.

* * *

><p>"Why isn't she answering?" Rainbow Dash groaned as she stared at the little piece of golden rock Sadie had given them.<p>

About a year after Olivia started living in Equestria, Sadie had discovered that not only did the stone allow you to teleport to other dimensions, it allowed you to communicate with other dimensions as well. Ever since then, the ponies had held a piece of the golden rock, just in case there was an emergency.

"Do you think she's in school…?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nah, their school should 'a gotten out over an hour ago," Applejack replied as she tried getting a hold of Sadie again.

"What're you guys doing?" A voice suddenly asked from behind. They all turned to see Olivia standing in the doorway of the barn looking very tired and confused.

"Olivia! I told you to stay in the house!" Rarity scolded.

"I… I wanted to come home. You know, back here…," Olivia said quietly.

Fluttershy quickly took hold of the rock and hid it in her bale of hay while Rarity scolded Olivia.

"Olivia, we've been over this. You shouldn't be wandering around outdoors until you're fully recovered. I mean, look at you, darling, you look absolutely worn."

"I'm fine, Rarity," Olivia replied, still sounding quieter than usual, "I'm just tired, that's all. I think I… I think I'm gonna go to bed."

Olivia began to walk off toward the stairs, when she started to stumble a little. Everypony noticed this, and quickly went to help her.

"Olivia… I'm sorry but… you're obviously not alright," Fluttershy said with a concerned expression planted on her face.

"No, no I'm okay," Olivia tried to convince them.

"Well, I'ma help you up to your room anyhow, sugar cube," Applejack sighed, "I don't need ya' fallin' down the stairs."

Olivia reluctantly agreed and allowed Applejack to help her while the others watched them with worry.

"Something is definitely wrong," Twilight sighed.

* * *

><p>Sadie, who was now sixteen years old, carefully brushed her thick, black hair one final time before she stepped out of the bathroom.<p>

"Now, I think I'll head to Equestria to see what's going on with Liv…"she thought out loud as she entered her room.

What she didn't expect was to see Tara not only standing in her room, but holding a certain golden stone that was supposed to be locked up on top of her dresser.

"Sadie, what is this?" Tara asked with a suspicious tone.


	10. Sporting new Colors

_**WHOA! An update already? But it's only been two days!**_

_**That's right, readers! I was suddenly struck by inspiration! I can honestly say that I'm very excited for this story to continue now, and I just couldn't wait to keep writing! And get this, the chapter is longer, too! I do see every day updates coming back soon :D**_

_**Thank you shout out to Solar-Paladin-Kuro! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be this eager to continue.  
>Here's chapter 10!<strong>_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

"Um… it's a rock, Tara," Sadie giggled nervously

She tried to hide her worry as Tara held up the golden teleportation stone in front of her. If Tara had actually found out what that thing did, Olivia's life in Equestria could be over.

"Then why was it buzzing?" Tara accused.

Sadie froze and her eyes widened, "B-buzzing? Tara I think you might be hearing things. Rocks don't-," Sadie was interrupted by a loud buzzing noise. She looked up to see the stone in Tara's hand turning a reddish color as it began to vibrate.

"You were saying?" Tara asked with a smug but unimpressed expression.

"I… uh…," Sadie had no idea what to say. Not only was she frazzled because Tara now had her cornered, but the ponies must've been calling her for a reason. There could be an emergency. She stared blankly into Tara's eyes.

"Sadie, what's going on?" Tara demanded, "First you lie about Olivia being on vacation, and now this thing? Sadie what do you know that I don't?"

"Tara it's-," Sadie tried to explain.

"No. Don't even start saying 'it's hard to explain' or 'it's really Olivia's business to tell' because Sadie, I've heard it all before. And if this WAS only Olivia's business to tell, then why do all paths lead back to you?"

Sadie was speechless. She had no idea what to even think anymore. If she did tell Sadie, what would happen to Olivia? Could Tara keep the secret? And if she didn't tell Tara, what was going to happen? Would Tara just leave? Would she never speak to her again? Would she be angry at both her and Olivia?

"I'm waiting, Sadie," Tara said impatiently.

Sadie had to make a decision soon before one was made for her. Did she want to tell Tara? Was it okay to tell Tara? She had absolutely no idea. What she needed was more time to think about all of this. She needed enough time to ask Olivia what she thought, and also the ponies. All she needed was more time.

"Fine," Sadie sighed, "I'll tell you everything."

Tara smiled. It had been a lot easier that she had originally thought, but she managed to do it. She was finally going to hear what she needed to hear. She hated being left out of something, and this secret was really getting on her nerves.

"But you have to wait until tomorrow night," Sadie informed.

"What? But why?" Tara asked angrily.

"Because it's not the kind of thing I can just tell you and you'll believe me," Sadie said in almost a whisper, "I have to show you. And I can't do that right now."

Tara seemed to think over this for a few minutes, and then finally agreed, "Fine. Show me tomorrow night, no later. And you can forget about suddenly changing your mind, because you're not getting out of this one."

With that, Tara exited the room, leaving Sadie with a ton on her mind to deal with. Would it be okay to just tell Tara? She needed to ask the ponies about this and Olivia too. Also, if she was going to tell Tara, she'd need to find a way to do it without freaking her out. But how do you find a subtle way to tell someone that her friend lives in a world full of colorful ponies?

She fell back onto her bed and rested her head in her hands. At least she had bought herself a little more time. That was what she needed most, after all. All she had to do was go into Equestria and—

She froze mid-thought. The ponies had been calling her, and as it seemed, more than once. Something was definitely amiss. Her mind was instantly set from one worry to another as she grabbed her teleportation stone and instantly went to Equestria.

* * *

><p>"Thanks, Mom," Olivia said weakly as Applejack lifted her onto her bed.<p>

Applejack's face was flooded with concern for the young girl before her. The doctors said that she would be a little weak from pain medication, but this was just ridiculous. When she looked into Olivia's eyes, they were an off shade of grey, something she had never seen before. Sadness was a grey-blue color, but nothing like this. This grey was much too dark and dull to be even compared to the at least bright color that was sadness.

"Olivia," Applejack whispered in a concerned tone, "Has somethin' been botherin' you? You don't look quite right."

Olivia sported a nervous glance to her window, which overlooked the path into Ponyville, and then back to Applejack, "No… no I've been okay. Just really tired lately…"

Applejack didn't buy it for one second, but nodded all the same, "Well, if you do need anythin', I'm right here for ya, just like I've always been."

"Thanks Mom," Olivia said, a small but weak smile forming on her lips.

With that, Applejack left the room, leaving Olivia to sit alone in her thoughts.

It wasn't much of an improvement. She had left Rarity's mostly because she was lonely; not allowed to step outside of the empty boutique. Being alone for all that time got her to thinking, and she suddenly remembered those stares. Those ponies, staring holes into her as she was dragged back to Rarity's through magic.

What had suddenly made them look at her like that? They had never acted like this before, had they? Now that she thought about it, she never paid much attention to the ponies around her as she walked through town. Had it always been this way? But why?

She looked down at her hands with a disappointed frown. She was a human, that's why. She was different. She didn't have hooves, she didn't have fur, and she didn't have wings or a horn. She was nothing like the ponies of Equestria. Not at all. Of course those other ponies looked at her strangely, she was nothing but an animal to them.

But that wasn't the nature of ponies, was it? They weren't like humans. They didn't look down upon others for their differences, no, they were too good natured to do that. But then again…

'_BLANK FLANK!' _

The words of Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara echoed in her mind. She gritted her teeth, she hated those ponies so much. Ever since that day, that day long ago when she had first arrived in Ponyville, when she had first met those two spoiled ponies.

She remembered that day very well, even though everypony else suspected that she had forgotten after her outburst. But she remembered it quite clearly. She stood between the two and her friends, defending the three fillies with all that she could. They couldn't help that they didn't have their cutie marks yet. It wasn't their fault they were different.

It wasn't her fault she was different.

But the way they were staring at her. Those burning, piercing stares. It still made her stomach churn just imagining them. At first, they had only bugged her for a moment, but as she thought about it more and more, they continued to get to her. The stares seemingly got darker and more powerful. They were more powerful than her. They were better than her. She would never be like them. She was different.

She shook her head. This all felt like a big nightmare. Ever since she broke her side of the deal, her life had been spiraling out of her hands. Not only have the events changed, though. Personalities have changed as well.

Applejack was a lot quieter, and a lot more sincere than normal. She became a lot more gentle when she talked to Olivia; careful to watch what she said. Nopony said it was a bad thing, but it was different. This wasn't the strong willed pony she was used to.

Then there was Rarity. Olivia had no idea what had gotten into that pony. It was like all of a sudden, all the dangers of Equestria had become ten times more dangerous. She was more protective than she had ever been before. All of a sudden, it was always 'you just got out of the hospital' to anything Olivia tried to do. Rarity had changed a lot recently, and Olivia wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

She needed somepony to go to, anypony. But the way Applejack was acting, it didn't seem like she was going to be much help, and the others were all usually too busy to talk much. Sure, if there was a serious problem, they would gladly drop their work. But what was she going to say? That ponies had been staring at her strangely? She had already tried telling Rarity, and she just shrugged it off like Olivia was just imagining things.

Olivia sighed; there was no use in telling anypony. She just had to work through things herself. But this wasn't something she could just get over, was it? She had been driving herself insane thinking about it. She stared out the window at the path leading to Ponyville. There was one thing she was sure about: she never wanted to see those stares again.

* * *

><p>Applejack walked slowly down the stairs back to where her friends were. She couldn't stop thinking about that strange color in Olivia's eyes. She had thought she'd seen every color Olivia's eyes allowed, but that color was just… odd.<p>

What could it have meant? It wasn't scared, or sad, or nervous, those were all different shades of blue. This wasn't a shade of blue at all, it was just grey. And that was another thing. All the colors she had seen so far were very bright and vibrant. Even the color of sadness was at least a little bit vibrant. This was just plain, dull grey.

Olivia was beginning to really worry her. Ever since she got out of the hospital, she was acting a lot stranger than normal. She was always jumpy, and didn't talk as much. It seemed like every little sudden movement would scare her. She was acting as if she was seven years old again.

When Applejack reached the bottom of the stairs, everypony was staring at her with concerned expressions.

"What did Olivia say?" Pinkie spoke up first.

Applejack looked down at the ground, "She didn't say all that much. Even when I asked her if she was alright, she just stared out the window."

"Well, I have to admit, I wasn't sure about this whole 'acting weird' thing," Rainbow Dash admitted, "But the way she looked just now…"

Nopony really knew how to describe it. Most ponies would say that she just looked tired, but they knew better than that. She looked as if she had just been fighting, but without the injuries save the scar on her cheek from before the hospital.

Just then, a strange buzzing sound came from the center of the room. Everypony backed away as they saw a blinding, bluish light appear from thin air. The light began to move and form a shape and a rather odd shape at that. It was about five and a half feet tall, skinny, and a familiar looking ponytail hanging off the back.

"Now look who decided to show up," Rainbow Dash grumbled as the light dissolved revealing a rather panicked looking teenager.

"I'm so sorry," Sadie began, "It wasn't my fault, see, cuz Tara was in my room and—,"

"Settle down, sugar cube. It's alright," Applejack assured.

Sadie took a deep breath and sat back on a bale of hay, "Okay, I'm cool. What were you guys calling for?"

The ponies glanced at each other nervously before Rarity stepped up to the plate, "Well, we've been noticing that Olivia's been acting rather off recently."

"Yea!" Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted, making Sadie jump, "And Rarity was all 'she must be hiding something' and Twilight said that we needed to find out what it was! But then Rainbow said it would be mean to force her while she's down! And then we shouted and shouted and shouted until Applejack said we needed to call you! And here we are!"

Sadie stared at the pink pony for a second; giving her brain a minute to process the speedy explanation it was just given, "So… you're saying… Olivia's acting weird?"

"Pretty much!" Pinkie confirmed.

"But… you see… we don't really want to… you know… force her to say anything… just yet," Fluttershy tried to clarify.

Sadie thought about this for a few minutes then stood up, "Alright, let me go see if I notice anything."

She began to walk out the door when Twilight stopped her in her tracks, "Actually, Sadie, she's upstairs in her room."

Sadie turned around; things were already starting to look strange. Olivia was usually outside playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. What was she doing in her room at this time of day?

Without wanting to think about it much more, Sadie shrugged and made her way up the stairs to Olivia's room, where she was in for a little bit of a surprise.

When she opened the door, there was Olivia, or what looked like Olivia. She was staring out the window with a blank expression that was impossible to read. Her shoulders were slouched over slightly, and there were small bags forming under her eyes.

"…Liv?" Was all Sadie could manage to say.

Olivia gave a small, startled gasp and quickly turned around.

"Oh… hey, Sadie," Olivia greeted, calming down back to her neutral state.

"Are… are you feeling okay?" Sadie asked in almost a whisper.

Olivia nodded, but said nothing. Like she had decided before, there was no use in telling anypony, even if Sadie wasn't a pony. She probably wouldn't understand anyway.

Sadie had no idea what to say. Olivia was acting strange, alright, but this was even stranger than Sadie was used to. It seemed like the little girls energy was suddenly just drained away.

"Have you been sleeping? At all?" Sadie asked.

Olivia nodded again, getting a little annoyed with Sadie's questioning.

Sadie needed something, anything to get Olivia's attention to her. She needed something to cheer the little girl up.

"Why don't we go down into Ponyville and find the Crusaders? I bet their worried about you."

Olivia's eyes widened and she turned to Sadie. There was no way she was going into Ponyville. She never wanted to see those burning stares again, ever, "No!"

"Huh?" Sadie asked, very confused, "But you love going down to Ponyville."

"I don't want to," Olivia insisted, a nervous look forming in her eyes.

"Olivia, what is going on? You're acting totally insane! This isn't like you."

"I'm just really tired, Sadie. That's all," Olivia grumbled.

"Are you sure you've been sleeping enough? You always want to go outside, Liv. What's getting into you?" Sadie asked, desperate to find the cause in this sudden behavior.

"Sadie, I just don't want to go!"

* * *

><p>"How do you think it's going up there?" Twilight asked her friends.<p>

"I sure hope it's going well," Rarity sighed, "I really would just like things to go back to normal."

All of their heads popped up when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They all stared with hopefulness in their eyes, waiting to see if everything would be okay.

Unfortunately, judging by the solemn look on Sadie's face, things didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped.

"Well, she's acting different, that's for sure," Sadie sighed as she made her way back over to her bale of hay.

"So? What happened?" Rainbow asked.

"It was so… weird. It's like Olivia isn't Olivia anymore. She just kept staring out the window and nodding to any and every question I asked her," Sadie reported glumly.

"That doesn't seem like her at all…" Twilight pondered.

"And get this," Sadie announced, "She doesn't want to leave her room! I asked her if she wanted to come out with me, but I couldn't even get her to come down the stairs!"

The ponies were taken back by this. Olivia was usually one to run outside whenever she got the chance. Wanting to stay in her room was the most unusual thing they had heard yet.

"Well… what should we do?" Fluttershy asked.

Sadie thought for a second, "We need to get her to open up. There's obviously a reason why she's acting like this. It can't just be nothing."

"Oh, but I've tried," Rarity sighed, "I've tried everything I could, but she just wouldn't speak up."

"I would expect that. She's almost a teenage girl, and it's human nature to bottle up your feelings. She's not going to open up to just anyone, let alone a parental figure."

"Well, then I guess I'm not gonna do any good," Applejack sighed, "Who do ya think she'll open up to?"

"My first guess would be Scootaloo," Sadie informed, "But since all three of the fillies have kept secrets for Olivia before, I don't want to take any chances with that."

"What's your second guess, then?" Rarity asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Fluttershy," Sadie shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.


	11. Fluttershy the Diary

_**HEEY THERE! So, sorry if this chapter wasn't up as soon as you expected it to be. My excuses are moving, a fever, and loss of internet connection. So I've been getting really excited about this story and decided I will update AT LEAST once a week from now on if not even more frequently. Thanks to all who are still reading and please review!  
>DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys.<strong>_

"Meep!" Fluttershy squeaked as all attention was turned to her, "But… why me?"

"For obvious reasons," Sadie shrugged, "You may be a parental figure, but not a strong one like Applejack, Rarity, or Twilight. Pinkie wouldn't work because she's even less of a parental figure than you. Pinkie is the kind of pony we would send Olivia to if she just needed to be cheered up."

"YAAY!" Pinkie cheered

"The only reason Rainbow wouldn't work out well is because she tends to lose her temper easily, and will probably get impatient if Olivia doesn't talk right away. No offence Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "None taken, I guess."

"So, that leaves us with you!" Sadie finished, "And I think your perfect for the job!"

"Sadie makes a good point," Twilight agreed, "Out of all of us; Olivia is probably most likely to tell you."

"Oh… well… I guess I could try…" Fluttershy said.

"Great!" Sadie cheered, "There's just one little problem."

"And what would that be?" Rarity questioned.

"Olivia won't come out of her room, remember? We have to find a way to convince her to go to Fluttershy's cottage."

"Why can't Fluttershy jus' stay over here?" Applejack asked almost defensively.

"Because I know you," Sadie slyly accused, "You're gonna be listening in on their conversation the first chance you get. And Olivia knows that too."

Applejack blushed and stayed quiet.

"Anyway," Sadie giggled, "We need a way to get her to Fluttershy's. If we can do that, then we can probably figure out what's going on."

"Why don't we just ask her if she wants to go?" Pinkie suggested.

"Pinkie, I don't think it's that easy," Twilight grumbled.

"Why not?" Pinkie continued, "What if we did a whole lotta work all for nothin cause' she wanted to go anyway?"

"She has a point," Rainbow agreed, "We don't need to make a whole plan yet. For all we know, she might just say yes."

"I guess it's worth a shot. I mean, the worst she can do is say no," Sadie shrugged.

"Okay! Applejack, you go ask her!" Pinkie announced.

Applejack nodded and trudged up the stairs. She didn't bother questioning why she was automatically the one to ask. In all honesty, she was kind of glad. When Sadie explained why she wouldn't have much of a role in this situation, she was kind of hurt. The explanation made sense, but she still didn't understand. Why wouldn't Olivia tell a parental figure? They were the ones who watched over and cared for her the most. So why would she keep something from them and tell somepony else?

She reached Olivia's room and peeked in the doorway. Olivia was half under her blankets and her head was positioned toward the window.

"Sugarcube?" Applejack called softly. She didn't get an answer. She stepped into the room and approached Olivia's bed.

"Olivia?" she tried again; still no answer. She softly prodded the girls shoulder and turned her over. Just as she had suspected, Olivia was fast asleep.

While part of her didn't want to wake the child, she had to ask her about Fluttershy's. If Olivia said no and they needed to make a plan, they needed to start sooner than later. She nuzzled Olivia's cheek until she heard a slight moan escape the girl's throat.

"Hey there, sugarcube," Applejack greeted softly.

"Hi…," Olivia squeaked just as she was about to yawn.

"Listen, Fluttershy invited you to stay the night with her. I jus' came up here to see if you were up to it."

Olivia shrugged a little, "Okay… I guess that's fine."

Applejack grinned and kissed the girl's forehead, "Alright. Go on back to sleep now. You can head out after supper tonight."

Olivia softly nodded and closed her eyes again, instantly drifting back off. Applejack sighed. She was glad that had been easier than expected, but she also knew that Olivia was too tired to think clearly. There was a chance she'd change her mind once she awoke.

Applejack informed the others that Olivia had agreed to go but was going to go over later since she was so exhausted. Everypony agreed and went their separate ways; all eager to find out what would happen at Fluttershy's that night.

* * *

><p>"<em>You stick out like a sore hoof around here, or should I say a sore 'thumb'?"<em>

_Silver Spoon's rude remark echoed in Olivia's mind. She cringed, it wasn't her fault she was a human. She had plenty of ponies who loved her and it didn't make a difference to them whether she was human or not. _

'_Oh, but it DOES make a difference,' A strange voice informed her from the distance._

"_Who… who are you?" Olivia asked while trying to hide her fear._

_A small filly came out into the light. It was light brown with a dark brown mane and orange eyes._

'_I'm you, Olivia. Or, rather, I'm the Olivia that everypony wishes you were.'_

"…_Huh?" Olivia questioned, more caught in shock than anything. _

'_Don't you think Applejack wishes she had a normal daughter? One that wasn't some creature-freak of nature? It may seem like she loves you now, but think of how much happier she'd be if you were more… like me?'_

"_I… I…," Olivia could only stutter as the filly went on._

'_And what about Rarity? Did you notice how she's been so protective lately?'_

_Olivia nodded, but remained completely silent._

'_She's hiding you Olivia. She saw the stares too. She's embarrassed to have you around because you're not like everypony else. You're not a pony at all. You know how much Rarity cares about her reputation. Can you think how embarrassing it would be to be seen with a human?'_

"_No… no you're-," before Olivia could argue, the filly went on._

'_They all want you to be like me, Olivia. None of them want to be with a creature like you. You're different. You're a human. You don't belong in Equestria, and nopony wants you here, either.'_

"_No! No, you're wrong!" Olivia shouted, tears forming in her eyes._

'_Maybe this will prove my point.'_

_And just then, the filly disappeared, leaving nothing but darkness all around the terrified girl. Olivia looked around, desperate for somepony, ANYPONY, she hated being all alone. Suddenly, there was a large flash of light. She looked around to see somepony in the distance. _

"_Hey! Can you help me?" Olivia called out to the pony, relieved that she was no longer alone._

_The pony turned to her with a smile on her face, expecting to help somepony out. But, as soon as the pony caught sight of Olivia, she frowned. She began to look angry, yet confused at the same time. She wasn't blinking. She was frozen, staring straight at Olivia. That's when Olivia remembered it. The stares. The burning stares that everypony gave her the other day. _

_The pony disappeared so that just her eyes remained. Still staring straight at Olivia. Those eyes, piercing into Olivia's heart and soul. She turned to look away, but there were another pair of eyes behind her. They had begun to multiply. Olivia tried to close her eyes, but there was something forcing them open. She was forced to look back in to those angry, accusing eyes. _

_They were everywhere. No matter where she turned, another pair of eyes would greet her. The burning stares. Olivia couldn't handle it. She fell to her knees and broke down. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the eyes closed in on her. _

'_YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!' a thousand voices seemed to scream at once, 'YOU ANIMAL! YOU'RE DIFFERENT!'_

_Olivia cried more, not able to do anything else. She was terrified. _

'_Sugarcube?' she heard Applejack call out to her._

"_M-Mommy?" Olivia called back, using her last stroke of hope._

_Just then, the crowd of eyes parted and Applejack stepped into the light with a comforting smile on her face._

"_M-Mom!" Olivia sobbed in relief as she stood up to run to her. _

_But just before she could, Applejack's eyes turned bright red and she frowned, just like the other pony had done before. Applejack was now staring at her like all the other eyes. _

'_You stick out like a sore hoof 'round here. Or should I say a sore thumb?' Applejack mimicked Silver Spoon's words and began to laugh._

* * *

><p>"Olivia? Olivia!" a loud voice suddenly pierced in Olivia's ears and snapped her back to reality. She opened her eyes to see Applejack looking down at her with a very panicked look on her face.<p>

"Sweet Celestia," Applejack panted, "Are you okay, sugarcube?"

Olivia stared up at Applejack, still debating whether she was dreaming or not. When Applejack didn't get a response out of the girl, she simply pulled Olivia closer and began stroking her hair.

"It's alright, sugarcube," she comforted, "It was just a dream. Everythin's gonna be okay."

With that, Olivia promptly began to ball her eyes out into Applejack's shoulder. Applejack let out a sigh of both relief and concern as she gently rocked back and forth. She had come up the stairs to hear Olivia practically screaming bloody murder. She walked in to not only see that Olivia was tossing and turning, but just as Applejack got to her, Olivia stopped breathing. For a second, Applejack actually believed that Olivia was dead. But the loud sobs escaping the child's throat said otherwise, and Applejack was definitely relieved.

"It's okay," Applejack whispered into the girl's ear, "Everythin's gonna be just fine. I'm right here, don't you worry 'bout nothin'."

Olivia attempted to say something, but all that came out was pathetic sounding sobs of fear.

"Shh, it's alright," Applejack hushed, "It's gonna be alright. Shhh."

After a little while longer of comforting and reassurances, Olivia managed to calm down a little bit. She refused to tell Applejack a single word about the dream, since that would lead to an explanation behind the dreaded 'stares'. Applejack was a bit unhappy with this, but she decided to let it go; seeing that Olivia was already torn up as it was.

"Are ya still up for goin' to Fluttershy's tonight?" Applejack asked once she was finally met with silence after the fierce sobbing.

Olivia thought for a second. She really needed a night with Fluttershy. Not so much for Fluttershy, but more for the calmness of her location. Of course, the only way to get to Fluttershy's would be to walk through Ponyville's square, where there would be dozens of ponies going about their daily routine.

"…Yea, I still wanna go," Olivia decided out loud, "But could you walk there with me? I… I don't really want to be alone…"

Applejack grinned, "Sure thing, sugarcube. Just let me check on the orchard real quick, and we'll be on our way lickity split."

* * *

><p>Olivia rode on Applejack's back through Ponyville's main square. Nopony seemed to be paying much attention to them, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy. Just then, a group of ponies passed by them, and a smaller looking filly glanced up. The filly did a double take, then just stared at the human before him.<p>

The stares. There it was again. The filly's eyes were confused, scared, and seemed a little bit angry. The filly's curiosity caused another filly to look up as well, and so on, and so on. Olivia remembered the dream and felt tears brimming in her eyes. She couldn't take it.

Applejack felt a sudden warmth on the back of her neck. She stopped in her tracks to check up on the girl she was carrying. To her surprise, she turned to see that Olivia was noticeably shivering, and her face was completely buried in her mane. Applejack had no idea what to think. She awkwardly shifted and decided to continue walking.

* * *

><p>When they got to Fluttershy's, Olivia was still in the same position she had been in earlier. The noise around her may have seized, but she still didn't want to take any chances.<p>

Fluttershy opened her door to see Olivia huddled forward, hiding herself in Applejack's mane. She was about to ask what was wrong, but the look Applejack gave her told her it was better not to ask.

"We're here, sugarcube," Applejack shifted the girl on her back, "Come on, you can look up now."

Olivia peeked up to see that they were infront of Fluttershy's cottage. She sighed in relief and slid off of Applejack's back. Both ponies stared at her with concern before sending her inside.

"Did something happen on the way over?" Fluttershy asked as soon as Olivia was out of earshot.

"I have no idea," Applejack sighed, "One second we're just walkin' over, and the next she won't even look up from my mane."

"Well… I'll do what I can tonight…," Fluttershy concluded.

"I know how Olivia can be," Applejack sighed, "None of us'll get mad if nothin' happens."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. She knew very well that getting Olivia to talk was tricky, and she doubted she'd be able to do anything on the first try.

"One more thing," Applejack said quietly, "Keep a close eye on her tonight. She woke up with a nightmare about 'n hour ago."

Fluttershy was taken back a bit, but agreed all the same. This had happened before. It was mostly when she was a lot younger, but it wasn't like nightmares were unusual for the girl. She had a dark past, and that triggered things like that a lot.

* * *

><p>"You understand, don't you Mr. Squirrel?" Olivia sighed as a tiny squirrel bounced up to her.<p>

So far, the night at Fluttershy's had been quiet and a bit awkward for both her and the pony. Olivia was still shaken from earlier, so she didn't really feel up to doing much, and Fluttershy was waiting until just the right moment to ask Olivia anything.

Olivia had her back against the wall in Fluttershy's guest room and was staring at the ceiling. She really wasn't thinking about much anymore. What was there to think about without getting terrified?

"Olivia? Its…um time for bed," Fluttershy said as she entered the room.

Olivia nodded her head but didn't move an inch. Fluttershy took a deep breath. It was time. She had to do it sometime that night, didn't she? Yes, she couldn't wait any longer. She quietly advanced across the room and sat down by Olivia.

"Has… has there been something… bothering you?" Fluttershy decided to just come out and ask.

Olivia slowly glanced toward Fluttershy and sighed. She wasn't an idiot. She knew this had been a setup since the beginning. Still, though, if she were to tell anypony, Fluttershy might actually be the one who'd listen.

"Well…," Olivia stuttered, still trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to speak up.

Fluttershy softly grinned and nuzzled Olivia's shoulder, "You can tell me anything."

Olivia looked up into Fluttershy's eyes to see her staring straight back. But this stare wasn't evil like the rest, it was gentle. It was actually comforting. Olivia knew that Fluttershy's eyes could turn evil within seconds, for example HER dreaded 'stare', but as of right now, they were calm.

"Do you… well…," Olivia tried to figure out how to say it, "Do you… ever think it's weird that I'm… well… not a pony?"

Fluttershy was very taken back, "Well… you've always been a human…,"

"But that's just it," Olivia went on, "Doesn't it seem weird to you? That I'm the ONLY human in this world filled with ponies?"

Fluttershy shrugged, "What do you mean?"

Olivia sighed. She closed her eyes and explained everything she was thinking about lately. How she wondered whether she really belonged in Equestria or not. And the stares. The more she got into detail about them, the worse she felt. She could feel tears coming on more than once as she told her story. Apparently Fluttershy noticed as well, because she had placed a gentle hoof on the girl's shoulder.

"But… but why didn't you tell anypony?" Fluttershy asked after Olivia went quiet, "We would've helped you. Oh… I just had no idea…"

"I tried," Olivia grumbled, "I tried telling Rarity, but she just brushed it off like it was no big deal. After that, I just figured it wasn't worth talking about."

Fluttershy was surprised to hear that Rarity would just brush off a problem like this. Rarity had always been known to address problems until every little detail was solved. What made this any less important than the others?

After a little while, Fluttershy took Olivia to bed and tucked her in.

"Goodnight, Olivia," she whispered as she went to exit the room.

"Fluttershy?" Olivia suddenly asked.

"Yes?"

Olivia grinned slightly, "Thank you… for… for listening to me."

Fluttershy grinned back, "Not a problem."

With that, Olivia turned and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep she had had in days.


	12. First Lead

_**HeyHey! Its chapter 12! Now, I know all of you were very excited about Tara finding out about Equestria, and I'm sorry that I didn't take care of it last chapter. I just thought it would make more sense like this. So, anyway, heres that part of the story now!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOW OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

Tara was getting impatient. She was told me meet Sadie at the edge of the woods behind the park at 5:30. It was now 5:55, and there was no sign of Sadie anywhere. Tara had been trying to figure out Olivia and Sadie's secret for days now, and this was supposed to be when Sadie revealed it wall.

"Sorry I'm late," Sadie sighed as she walked up to where Tara was standing.

"Took you long enough," Tara complained, "I hope you're not here to change your mind, because that's not even an option anymore."

Sadie shook her head, "I know. And I'm ready to show you everything. But it's going to seem a bit crazy so you just have to pay attention."

Tara nodded. How crazy could it be? Once Sadie got her response, she sighed and led Tara back into the woods. She had asked the ponies about it and they all agreed that telling Tara was the best option. None of them had any idea how she would react, but they decided that they could handle it.

"So, where are we going exactly?" Tara asked, starting to get impatient again.

"We're almost there," Sadie replied quietly, kind of upset that she still knew the way to this terrible place.

A clearing in the forest revealed a worn down fence surrounding an old looking, small home. Sides of the roof looked burnt and most of the windows were boarded up.

"That's weird," Tara pondered, "Who would want to live out in the middle of the woods?"

Sadie took a deep, deep breath, "This place… used to be Olivia's house."

Tara turned toward Sadie in shock, "Huh?"

Sadie told the tale about when she had first met Olivia. There were rumors and stories about grumpy old Mr. Peterson back when Sadie was a kid, but she was the only one with enough courage to test if the stories were true. What she found, was nothing like she expected. Never had any of the stories spoken of a daughter.

"But… but…" Tara stuttered, not knowing how to comprehend what she was just told. Olivia's father was abusive? The thought of it sent a shiver up her spine, even if she had seen Olivia injured before. Sure, she knew about the boys, but she had never heard about Olivia's dad.

"Where is he now? Is Olivia in a foster home?"

"Uh… yes and no…," Sadie said awkwardly, "This is the part you're probably gonna have a harder time believing."

Tara looked at Sadie skeptically as she took yet another deep breath.

"I sent Olivia to… well… another home," Sadie said.

"Oh? Well, that's not so hard to believe-,"

"Another dimension," Sadie continued slowly, "A magical land called Equestria."

"…What?"

Sadie sighed and pulled out her teleportation stone. Tara recognized it instantly and looked up at Sadie in confusion.

"I found this rock in Olivia's cellar the day I found her," Sadie explained, "It may seem like just a regular stone, but I think we both know that it's not."

Tara stared at Sadie, her explanation sort of coming together in her head, even though it seemed impossible.

"This is what allowed me to send Olivia to Equestria," Sadie continued, "And we're both gonna go see her now."

Tara seemed as if she were a robot now; following Sadie's instructions with the same expression on her face: bewilderment. She was prepared to learn a secret that day, but she was nowhere near expecting something like this.

"Oh, and one more thing before we go," Sadie spoke up, "The citizens of Equestria are a bit… different. You'll see when we get there."

Just then, both of the girls vanished from sight. Tara looked around. Everything around her was black, with small flashes of green or pink. She couldn't feel air of any kind; all she could feel was the stone. She panicked and closed her eyes.

"Tara? Open your eyes. We're here," she heard Sadie's voice whisper.

Tara gulped and slowly opened her eyes. She was in what seemed to be another forest, but much more colorful and full than where she had just come from. There were much more creatures too. Tara was awe-struck. She had never seen a place so beautiful.

"I'm taking it you like Equestria so far," Sadie giggled, "Just wait until you see the town. But don't freak when you see its inhabitants…"

Sadie led Tara out of the woods and into a small looking town. What Tara saw, she was even less prepared for than the dimension traveling. She saw horses. Not just any horses, colorful ones. Most of them were just a little taller than she was, and they had little pictures on their… well… back ends. Tara stumbled backward a bit but Sadie grabbed her arm.

"Please don't freak out," Sadie begged.

"Olivia… lives… _here?" _Tara asked in shock.

Sadie nodded, "Don't worry, she's still human. She just lives with a couple of ponies here in Ponyville. In fact, that's who we're going to see now. They should all be at Sweet Apple Acres waiting for us."

Ponyville? Sweet Apple Acres? Tara's head was spinning. This had to be a dream. Just one big, weird dream. Sadie led the way through town. They passed by quite a few buildings. One that Tara assumed to be a bakery, another that looked like a bowling alley, and they were finally out of town and onto a dirt path.

"This is why Olivia would never let you visit her," Sadie explained while walking, "She knew you'd react like this. There are about six ponies that look after her. There who she referred to as her 'mom' and 'aunts'."

They arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and walked up to a big, red barn. Sadie nodded, saying that the ponies were waiting inside, and then pushed the door open. Tara staggered back as she saw five ponies sitting there, just staring at her. She knew it's what she should've expected, but it was still quite a bit to take in.

"Everypony," Sadie announced, "This is Tara. Tara, these are the ponies that have been watching over Olivia."

The group and the girl stared at each other for a minute, until somepony decided to speak up.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're the third human I've ever met and that's super cool cuz I loooove making friends! If you want, we can go to Sugar Cube Corner and I can make you some cupcakes! Do you like cupcakes? Cuz I love cupcakes, I-,"

"Pinkie!" Sadie scolded, "Tara, before you assume something, not all ponies are like Pinkie. In fact, Pinkie's probably the only pony I've met that acts so… well… Pinkie."

Tara stared in bewilderment, and then shook her head slightly. She turned to the other ponies, wondering whether they would come out and introduce themselves or not.

"I'll introduce them in the way you kind of already know them," Sadie decided, "This is Twilight, the super smart aunt. This is Rainbow Dash, the soccer coach aunt. That's Rarity-,"

"Whoa, wait a second," Tara stopped Sadie. She remembered her phone conversation with Olivia a couple days earlier:

_"To tell you the truth I never really felt all that bad to begin with, but what Rarity says goes…"_

_"Rarity?"_

_"Ah… It's um... a nickname. Yea, we all call my aunt 'Aunt Rarity', cuz she's really pretty… and stuff."_

"She's the pretty aunt," Tara thought out loud, "Olivia almost gave herself up once using that name…"

Sadie looked wide eyed for a second, but then shrugged and continued on, "You've already met Pinkie, the baker aunt. And that there is Applejack… she's Olivia's mom."

Applejack blushed and tipped her hat, "Howdy."

Tara waved awkwardly at the ponies and glanced toward Sadie, who was casually making her way toward a bale of hay. Not wanting much attention, she followed in suit.

"So…," Tara started, "How did Olivia get to live here?"

Everypony glanced at each other, and began telling the tale of long ago, when Olivia first came to Ponyville. How strange it was, but how they all came to love her.

_**[a/n- imagine just a re-telling of Magic is Mystery]**_

Tara listened intently to the entire story. She was very interested in what exactly happened that five years ago. After all, that was what she came to find out. The secret Sadie was hiding was not even close to what she had expected, but it was nevertheless an interesting thing to hear about.

"Wait a second," Tara pointed out suddenly, "Where is Fluttershy?"

"She's watchin' Olivia for a while," Applejack replied, "They should be back soon, actually."

As if on cue, the door to the barn creaked open to reveal Fluttershy's shy face peeking in. Sadie noticed this and stood up to introduce the sixth pony.

"Tara, this is Fluttershy."

All of a sudden, Olivia burst into the barn as if she had just seen a ghost. Applejack suspected it was from the walk through town just like the day before, but Olivia had a different reason in her mind this time.

"TARA?" Olivia shouted, "What are you DOING here?"

Tara stared into Olivia's eyes. They were so big and innocent, just like they usually were. To think she has been through and was going through so much. Tara began to feel tears trail down her cheeks. She let out a little sob and hugged her friend.

"I know everything," Tara explained, still sobbing into Olivia's chest, "I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner! All of that, plus the crap that goes on at the park right now…"

Olivia's eyes widened at the mention of the park. She hoped for her life that nopony had paid any attention to that statement. She looked around the room. Everypony just seemed to be admiring the cuteness of the situation. Everypony, that is, except Applejack.

Applejack watched as Olivia's eyes turned from pink, which meant confused, to green, which meant shock. She had heard Tara say something about 'the crap that's going on.' Olivia's eyes were on her, suddenly. Applejack smirked slightly; she had just caught Olivia in the act. Of course, she was truly upset that her suspicions about Olivia hiding something again were true, but she was also happy that she actually had a real lead.

Tara knew exactly what was going on, and Applejack planned to hear the story from her; one way or another.


	13. Refusal

_**Okay, I'm sorry. I know I said I'd start updating every week. And I still intend to now. Now that this chapter is over with it should be much easier. It'll be a lot more exciting after this :D So I hope you enjoy and look forward to the next one! **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

"Where in the…" Tara awoke in a strange bed in a strange room, with no memory of where she was. She looked over to see a bed placed near her, and she saw Olivia's head peeking out from the blankets. Was she at Olivia's? Weird, Olivia didn't usually invite her over. Or, rather, she'd never invited her over at all before.

That's when it all came rushing back to her. She was in the magical land of Equestria, where Olivia supposedly lived. She had heard the long, heartbreaking story about how it came to be, and met Olivia's new pony guardians. Tears were almost brought to her eyes again as she thought of her friend's sad past. There was one thing Tara was absolutely sure about now: Olivia had to be the strongest girl she had ever met. After losing a mom, being abused, becoming an orphan, and what was going on now, it was a wonder that Olivia was the happy little girl she could be. It was amazing.

She glanced over at Olivia again, and sobbed silently to herself. She wished she could do something to stop the boys from hurting her, but the risks were too high.

C.J., Alex, and Jason may have been the most common to see at that park, but they were far from the only ones. They were all part of a large gang of teenagers that hung around the city. If she could've, Tara would've taken out all three boys a long time ago. But then Olivia explained the only reason she hasn't told anyone either.

Olivia only knew the names of the three of them, not anyone else. If she were to get a single one of them in any sort of trouble, the other two would surely come after her. Even if she managed to get all three of them hurt or arrested, there was still the rest of the gang. She didn't know a single one of the others, but they no doubt knew exactly who she was.

There was absolutely no way out, and that was why neither of them could tell anyone. Olivia would just have to try her best to keep up her side of the deal, and Tara would help with injuries in any way she could.

Tara's eyes shot open as she took notice of the clock in the corner of the room. It was almost one in the afternoon. A shiver went down her spine as she jumped out of bed. Olivia was supposed to be at the park by one-fifteen. She jumped onto Olivia's bed and proceeded to shake the girl.

"Olivia! Olivia wake up!" She said in a loud whisper.

"Mmmuurr," Olivia groaned, not fully awake yet.

"Come on Olivia! You only have fifteen minutes! Do you have any idea what they'll do to you if you're late? Come on, wake up!"

"Fifteen…," Olivia's eyes suddenly shot open. She jumped out of bed and got ready as quickly as she possibly could.

Tara watched in panic, not wanting to imagine the little girl getting hurt. She didn't necessarily WANT Olivia to go, but she knew it would all just be worse if Olivia didn't show up.

Olivia sprinted down the stairs while throwing on a blue hoodie. There was only one thought on her mind at that moment, panic. She was already showing up to the park less and less; if she showed up late again the boys would absolutely murder her. She was almost to the door, when a familiar pair of orange legs blocked her path.

"Now jus' where in the hay do ya' think you're goin'," Applejack asked suspiciously, noticing the girl's obvious panic.

"I'm going to… uh… school! So… so I can-."

Applejack knelt down to the girl and looked into her eyes, "Calm down, sugar cube. Jus' tell me what's botherin' you."

Olivia shifted uneasily to avoid Applejack's gaze, "I'm just going to school… so I can… uh… pick up things I missed! Yea! The teachers are going to wonder why I've been gone so long. I have to pick up work I can do from here."

Applejack didn't believe Olivia for a second. The girl began to walk around her, but she just blocked Olivia's path once again. Now Olivia looked even more nervous.

"What about the walk through town?" Applejack asked, "Do ya really wanna go alone?"

When Olivia remembered the stares, she shuddered and backed away from the door. Fluttershy may have helped her through that one night, but the ponies out in Ponyville were still the same as they were before.

Applejack watched the girl in sudden awe. She seemed to be so determined to get out the door just a few seconds earlier. Just at the mention of town, Olivia wanted nothing to do with the outdoors.

A few creaks came from the corner of the room. Both the pony and girl looked to see Tara making her way down the wooden staircase.

"Um… good morning- WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?"

Olivia suddenly remembered the real issue at hand. It was now a matter of choosing what was worse, physical pain or emotional pain. If she went through town, no doubt the ponies would stare like usual. She may go back to having nightmares about it. If she didn't go, however, then she could end up in the hospital again the next time she had to go to school.

She gulped, and then started for the door again. Tara sighed in relief as Applejack hesitantly let the girl pass.

As soon as Olivia was out of earshot, Applejack turned to the other human in the room, "Tara. You know what's goin' on, don't ya?"

Tara jumped and instantly started making excuses, "Who, me? What? I don't know anything about what's going on! I mean… how do you know there's something going on? I don't think anything's going on."

Applejack looked un-amused. The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. The suspense of it all was getting to Tara. What was Applejack gonna do?

"Okay so maybe there is something going on but that doesn't mean I'd tell you," Tara said without thinking, " 'Oh, hey Liv! You know that thing that you said was supposed to be completely confidential? I just told your mom. I hope you don't mind!'"

Applejack glared at the preteen. This girl was probably the only way everything could be figured out, but she just had to be stubborn. She wanted to yell, but she held back. Tara obviously wasn't very good at keeping secrets, so Applejack figured the girl would tell soon enough. It was only a matter of time.

"So, darling, why did you gather us all?" Rarity asked Fluttershy with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Well… you see… when Olivia visited the other night, she told me what was wrong…"

"YIPPIE!" Pinkie shouted as she rocketed off her bale of hay.

"I knew you would be the one she'd tell," Twilight mused, "So? What did she say?"

Fluttershy stared at the ground, "She asked me… if we thought it was strange that she wasn't a pony…"

Everypony stared at her, very confused. Fluttershy sank lower into her hair and began to retell what Olivia had explained.

"…Uncomfortable?" Rarity started, "Well that's absurd! Olivia has lived here since she was seven years old and never had a problem before."

"She said shes never had a chance to notice before…," Fluttershy explained further, "But one day while she was frozen with magic she noticed everypony staring at her… as if she was an animal…"

"I don't remember freezing Olivia," Twilight pondered.

"Well, I don't think somepony random would just freeze her like that," Rainbow argued, "So it had to be either you or…"

"Actually, Olivia said… well… she said it was Rarity…"

Rarity sighed and stood confidently, "I do admit that I used magic on her that day. But I did have a good reason for it. That was when I was just beginning to notice Olivia acting strangely, and I decided to try and talk to her myself before getting everypony in a panic."

"That's… well… that's actually the part that surprised me…" Fluttershy started up again, "She said that after you brought her home… she tried to tell you…"

"I don't remember such a thing at-" Rarity was about to say, until the memories of that day suddenly came back to her.

"_R-Rarity," Olivia stared nervously, "Why… why was everypony staring at me like that?"_

_Rarity looked confused, "What do you mean?"_

_Olivia sat up a little bit and glanced toward the window, "All of them. On the way back here… they were just staring at me… like there was something wrong with me…"_

_Rarity gently pushed Olivia's head back onto the pillow, "Nopony was looking at you strangely, darling. I was watching them as well. Now, why don't we just calm down a little and tell Rarity what's wrong." _

_Olivia wasn't ready to give in that easily. She saw it, with her own eyes. She could still feel her stomach churning from having to stare back. Something was off. She started to slide herself off the bed, but Rarity got in her way. _

"_Honestly, Olivia," Rarity sighed, raising her voice just a little._

"_I know what I saw, Rarity!"_

"…I do remember now," Rarity gasped

"So did 'ya do somethin?" Applejack asked, not taking the situation too well.

"Well… not exactly," Rarity sighed, "I was just so caught up in figuring out what was wrong, I didn't process that she actually saw something."

"How long ago was this?" Twilight asked.

"Only a day or two after she got out of the hospital, I believe."

"She's been dealin' with that all this time and didn't say anythin'?" Applejack stomped her hoof.

"That's what I thought too…" Fluttershy explained, "But she said… after Rarity didn't do anything… she figured that we'd all act… you know… the same way…"

Everypony sighed, until Pinkie jumped up, "That's silly! Olivia shouldn't be unhappy just because she's a human!"

"Well, what should we do?" Rainbow asked.

"Her auntie Pinkie Pie will help her! I'll show her that there's nothing to be afraid of!"


	14. Small Differences

**Hey there everypony.. Once again I'm really sorry for the lack of updates. Long story short, family drama and insane school has been getting in the way of all the free time I have. But, this is a long weekend. No one's home, and no homework for the first time in months. And so, brings me straight to writing. :D **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, and the boys. **

Olivia walked in utter silence on her way back to the portal. There had been no sign of the boys earlier, which was very strange to the girl. She couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Sure, she didn't get hurt yet that day. But would they find her now? Would they accuse her of skipping out that morning? She shoved her shaking hands into her pockets.

The portal was only a few feet away now; and still no sign of the boys. She took a deep breath and jumped into the portal. Though the feeling of dimension traveling usually calmed her down, she could still feel her heart thumping. Why weren't the boys there? Had she been too late and missed them? She had no idea, but she silently hoped for the best.

Once she felt her feet hit the ground, Olivia let out a long, deep breath. She knew one thing now, that she was safe. She made it back to Equestria surprisingly without a scratch. Her eyes flashed brightly and she smiled. This could help her situation. She pulled out some old schoolwork from the inside of her hoodie. Now Applejack would believe that she just went to pick up schoolwork, and maybe things would start going back to normal.

"LIIVVYYY!" She heard a high pitch voice shout.

Olivia turned to see the source of the voice, only to be suddenly pinned to the ground.

"I'M SORRY!" Olivia blurted, losing every sense of calm she once had, "PLEASE! I DIDN'T MEAN-"

"What're you talking about silly?" Pinkie asked the girl, "Sorry for what?"

Olivia slowly opened her eyes, "Pinkie?"

"Well duh!" Pinkie giggled, "Who did'ja think I was?"

"I…," Olivia tried to come up with a response, but before she could, Pinkie had seemingly teleported upright and lifted Olivia onto her back.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked.

"Into Ponyville of course!" Pinkie replied as she began hopping down the path, "Today it's just gonna be me and you!"

"I-Into town?" Olivia asked nervously.

"Yeppers!" Pinkie continued, "You and your Auntie Pinkie Pie havin' a good ol' day out in town! Does it sound fun? Oh I can't wait!"

Olivia shifted uneasily. She had hoped that since she talked to Fluttershy, the stares wouldn't get to her as much as they did before. But, there she was. The closer she got to town, the harder her heart thumped. This wasn't going to end well, she could already sense it.

Pinkie noticed Olivia's nervousness; however, she decided not to acknowledge it. The whole point to this was to make Olivia feel more comfortable. All she had to do was just keep smiling, she was sure Olivia would get the hint eventually.

As the two got into town, Olivia braced herself. She hoped it wouldn't bother her as much as before since she had that talk with Fluttershy, but she could never be sure.

Pinkie felt the girl tense up, so she decided to walk at a slower pace. She focused on each and every one of Olivia's movements, studying what made her tense and what made her relax. She giggled a little; she was beginning to think like Twilight. But still, she continued.

Just then, a group of ponies stopped going about their business to look over at them. Pinkie had no idea what they were looking at, but she just smiled and waved. The other ponies paused for a few minutes, and then slowly waved back. Pinkie felt satisfied with herself, until she remembered her purpose.

She felt for a sign of what the girl on her back was doing. Her eyes widened when she felt shivering. She slowly glanced up, so see the little girl's face buried in her mane.

"Olivia…," Pinkie whispered.

Olivia breathed slowly and heavily. She knew those were only the beginning of the stares. More would follow their example. She couldn't get that nightmare out of her head. There were eyes surrounding her, judging her. She couldn't handle it. A couple tears escaped her eyes as she burrowed herself deeper in Pinkie's fluffy mane.

Pinkie galloped to Sugar Cube Corner, eager to get Olivia out of the open. She didn't exactly understand what had upset her, but she had a feeling that was enough for one day.

Olivia still had her eyes closed tightly as Pinkie set her down on the counter. There were small tear stains lining her cheeks, but she wasn't quite in hysterics.

"We're alone now," Pinkie said quietly, "You can look."

Olivia slowly opened her eyes to see Pinkie Pie standing before her. Only instead of the usually bubbly smile that was planted on her face, she was sporting a confused frown.

"I'm sorry, Pinkie," Olivia whimpered.

"Why'd ya' get so upset back there?" Pinkie asked, a little less energetic than normal.

"Didn't you see?" Olivia questioned, "The stares… they were staring at me… like…"

"Staring? Is that all silly?"

Olivia blushed a bit, "They weren't, like, NORMAL stares."

"Then what kinda stares were they? Happy? Angry? Sad?"

"They…," Olivia tried to find the right words to explain it, "Confused… but angry I guess. They just looked like…,"

"I HAVE AN IDEA!" Pinkie announced.

Olivia was started from the sudden outburst, but quickly calmed herself, "Idea?"

"Yea!" Pinkie shouted happily, "Since you can't explain it to me here, I'll just have to see them for myself!"

"I don't think that'll work Pinkie…"

"Well, I know it won't work in PONYVILLE," Pinkie giggled, "But I bet it would work in the human world!"

Twilight stared at the first page of her book, as she had been doing for the past twenty minutes. She couldn't seem to focus on anything, not since the meeting earlier that morning.

Why was Olivia feeling out of place? Of course, it was natural if she was just transitioning, but she had been living in Equestria for FIVE YEARS. Why was she acting this way so suddenly?

She finally gave up on the book and began to pace around the room. It just didn't make sense to her. Had it really just started bothering Olivia this recently, or has it been a couple years before Olivia decided to speak up about it?

But that didn't make sense either. Olivia had just begun getting sick recently; she didn't seem to have this much of a problem before. But that brought Twilight back to her previous question: why had this happened so suddenly?

She decided that this situation, even for her, was way too complex to figure out on her own. Even she wasn't an expert on humans quite yet. She needed advice.

"Spike," Twilight yelled into the library, "Take a letter."

Spike ran down the stairs, quill and scroll in hand, "Alright Twilight, what do you want me to-." His smile faded as soon as he saw the distressed look on Twilight's face.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" he asked worriedly, "Did something happen?"

"I'll explain later, Spike," she quickly brushed his question aside, "Right now I just really need you to take this letter."

"Alright," Spike sighed, preparing his quill.

"Dear Princess Celestia…"

Twilight explained Olivia's situation and how it's been affecting the young girl. It pained her to think of the other day, how tired and worn Olivia had looked. How she had managed to walk herself from Rarity's boutique all the way to Sweet Apple Acres, she had no idea. But since then, the girl had barely managed to leave the barn as far as she knew.

After begging Celestia for any advice she could give, Twilight quickly had Spike send the letter. The unicorn and dragon stared at each other for a long time, both thinking deeply about what they had just sent. But before either could say a word, Spike grabbed his stomach and coughed up a reply.

"That was faster than expected," Twilight mused.

_Dear Twilight, my faithful student, _

_I understand your concern and am glad you gave me notice before the situation got out of hand. However, the only advice I can give at this time is to watch Olivia closely. Try and keep her as happy and safe as you possibly can. Reassurances and distractions are the best examples I'm able to give. _

_In the meantime, though, I suggest looking into transformation spells…_

"No," Olivia stated flatly. There was no way she was letting Pinkie, or ANYPONY go into the human world. She couldn't risk any of them getting hurt.

"Aww, but why not?" Pinkie pouted, "It can't be THAT different from Equestria."

Olivia's jaw dropped in shock. Did Pinkie really have no idea? Even after… Olivia shivered when she thought about her father. She pushed that thought out of her mind and went back to Pinkie.

"Yes, Pinkie," Olivia said slowly, "It IS that different. Earth is NOTHING like Equestria in the slightest bit."

"Do you still breathe on Earth?" Pinkie questioned.

"Well… yea but-,"

"Do you still speak?"

"Yes… but that's-,"

"Do you still eat and drink and have parties?"

"Pinkie, that doesn't-,"

"See? They're not SO different! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anyone if I just took a trip over there, you could even come with me!"

"Pinkie, no you're not getting it," Olivia pleaded, "Yes, we breathe, but the air is thick and dirty. You might not be able to handle breathing in that kind of toxin. And yes, we speak, but not everyone is willing to listen. And yea, we eat. We eat ANIMALS. We drink things created in factories, who knows what's really in that stuff. We have parties, but they're nothing like the parties you have here. It's different. It's not safe, Pinkie."

"Oh, alright," Pinkie sighed, getting Olivia's point.

Olivia let out a large sigh of relief, "Thank you, but it's getting late. Applejack will probably worry if I don't get back home soon."

She hopped off the counter and began to walk out the door, "And Pinkie?"

"Yuh huh?"

"Thanks for trying, means a lot."

And with that Pinkie watched Olivia step out of the bakery and start walking home.

"You're welcome," she whispered, a little shocked.

Pinkie then turned and started to walk up the stairs. She was sure Olivia had good intentions, but she couldn't help but be curious about what Olivia was feeling. She just HAD to go to the human world. It was the only way she could really understand.

She knew Olivia wouldn't approve, and she knew that Olivia would probably get upset if she found out what Pinkie was planning. Pinkie frowned at this thought. She didn't want Olivia to be upset. But it was the only way she could make Olivia happy.

Pinkie searched her brain for an answer. To go, or not to go? That was the really really hard question.


	15. Pulling it Off

_**Alrighty. I've actually had this chapter done for a while now, and hopefully that will get this story moving. I really do love writing this story, and even go back and read it every once and a while. I have honestly read Magic is Mystery over 10 times now, and I still can't get enough of it. Anyway, here's the next chapter **___

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own in this story are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

"Tara knows something?" Twilight asked with a confused expression.

"But didn't we already figure everything out?" Rainbow countered, "She just felt weird being a human in Equestria, remember?"

"Yea, but ya'll can't just assume that's the ONLY thing goin' on here," Applejack replied, "How does that explain why she was put in the hospital?"

"She has a point," Twilight sighed, "But what makes you think that Tara knows something?"

"When she first got here yesterday," Applejack began to explain, "Remember when she hugged Olivia? She dun' mentioned somethin'… about 'What's goin' on in the park.'"

"I do recall her saying something like that," Rarity pondered.

"And then this mornin'," Applejack continued, "Olivia was off to the human land, and I asked Tara if there was somethin' goin' on."

"Oh my… did she react badly?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Well, I didn't get any information," Applejack grumbled, "But that girl is real bad at keeping secrets. She straight up told me there was somethin' goin' on, but she wouldn't tell me what."

Everypony simultaneously sighed. Another stubborn girl was all they needed in this situation. Still, though, they had a lead for once. That was something to be happy about.

"I'm h- oh, hi everypony," Olivia said as she came in the door.

"Hey there, sugar cube," Applejack smiled, "Little later than normal, I reckon."

"Sorry about that," Olivia sighed, "Pinkie wanted to see me for something."

"You went to school?" Rarity asked, a little bit shocked.

"No, just went in to get things I missed," Olivia pulled a couple papers out of her pocket to prove her case, "I've been out for a pretty long time…"

With that, Olivia began to head up the stairs. She couldn't believe she had actually pulled it off. While it was rather strange and nerve wracking that the boys didn't show up that day, she was glad they didn't. She would've had a lot more explaining to do if they had.

"Olivia!" she heard Applejack call after her. She mentally sighed; she had ALMOST pulled it off.

She turned to see Applejack halfway up the stairs, ready to meet her, "Yea, Mom?"

"How're ya feelin'?"

Olivia grinned, "Alright, really tired, but alright."

"Alright, well you go rest up then," Applejack confirmed, nuzzling Olivia a bit, "I'll wake ya up for supper."

"Alright, see ya later," Olivia said as she began to walk up the stairs again. She smiled to herself. She really had pulled it off.

"Well Fluttershy," Applejack announced, coming back down to the group, "I dunno what you said, but she seems a LOT better off than she was the other day."

"Really? Oh… it wasn't much…," Fluttershy blushed.

"Sadie seemed to know that much, though," Twilight said, "So maybe she'll know how to get secrets out of Tara too."

"TARA WHAT?"

The ponies' were taken back. Sadie had taken this a little different than they had first assumed.

Sadie held her head in her hands. There was Tara, accusing her of all these things because she was hiding that Olivia was living in Equestria, yet at the same time she was keeping secrets about Olivia herself, that could be even worse.

"Any ideas how we can get Tara to speak up?" Rainbow asked though the golden rock.

"You have to corner her," Sadie sighed, "Tara won't say a word unless she feels like there's no other way out. And even that might take a while. Tara is one of the most stubborn…"

The ponies listened to Sadie ramble on with grumpy insults to Tara, and decided that was the only advice they were going to get at this point.

"Alright, will you do us a favor, then?" Twilight asked the angered teen.

"Yea sure," Sadie huffed.

"Bring Tara to Equestria tomorrow morning so we can talk to her. We need to get this solved before anything else happens."

Sadie sighed and tried to calm herself down. This was not the time to stew in her own anger, "Alright, she'll be there."

"You told on me?" Tara questioned as she opened Applejack's barn, "I mean I know it's kinda important to you, but I'm NOT a little kid!"

"Tara, please be a dear and sit down," Rarity said, ignoring the girl's outburst.

Tara sighed and sat on a bale of hay, "If this is to try and pry something out of me, you can forget it. I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to say a word."

"Tara, please, just try to understand," Twilight begged, "The last time Olivia tried to keep secrets like this from us, you know how it ended. We can't let something like that happen again."

"I get you guys are scared," Tara sighed, "But me and Olivia are handling this as best we can. We can't risk anyone else knowing."

"Pretty please, Tara?" Pinkie tried, hoping she could ease up the situation.

"The answer is still no," Tara grumbled.

"That's it," Rainbow growled. She quickly flew up to Tara's face so that they were nose to nose, "Listen, kid, we don't have time for this. Something could be happening to Olivia at this very moment, and YOU'RE the only one who knows about it. So spit it out already!"

Tara glanced up at the clock on a nearby wall, "Actually, right now she should still be here in Equestria."

"Augh! I'm done with you!" Rainbow roared, "We're never gonna get anything out of her, let's just find a different way."

"Rainbow, this could be the only lead we-," Applejack started.

"No, Rainbow's right," Tara interrupted, "I don't see why you guys are wasting your time. I'm not going to tell you anything. So just forget it."

And with that, Tara stood and made her way out of the barn.

"Well, that could've gone… better," Twilight sighed.

Tara huffed as she made her way back to the portal.

"I can't believe they TOLD on me. To SADIE of all people." She grumbled.

She looked up above her at the almost too welcoming sun. Equestria was still a strange sight for her, but she had to admit it was kind of a peaceful one. Maybe that's why Olivia liked it so much, it was such a change from their city in the human world.

"Hey, you're that Tara girl, aren't ya?" Tara heard a voice ask from behind.

She turned to see a small, white unicorn pony with a purple and pink main and no cutie mark.

"Maybe, depends on who you are." Tara replied, almost jokingly.

"I'm Sweetie Belle!" The pony replied, "I talked to you on the phone the other day, remember?"

So this was the young sounding voice on the phone. Now that she thought of it, she did recall Rarity mentioning that name once or twice.

"Oh , I remember. Olivia's uh… sister?"

"You could say cousin," Sweetie replied awkwardly, knowing the family situation was strange.

"Oh yea, I remember now," Tara giggled a little, "So, what's up, Sweetie Belle?"

"Looking for Olivia, actually," Sweetie sighed, "She hasn't come out to play in a long time… I haven't really seen her since Rarity was keeping her at our house. "

"That is kind of strange… Olivia loves to be outside, especially in Equestria," Tara mumbled almost to herself.

She looked down at her watch and confirmed Olivia would probably be on her way to the portal right now, and she thought about meeting up with her on the way.

Then she sighed, she couldn't let Olivia be late, it was too dangerous. Still though, judging by the way the older ponies were acting a little while ago, she might still be held up back at the orchard.

"Tell you what," Tara smiled at the young pony in front of her, "She should be making her way to the human world now. Why don't we meet up with her on the way?"

Sweetie Belle smiled at this idea, but then frowned a few minutes later, "Rarity said Olivia's not allowed to go to the human world for a while. She's probably still at home sleeping."

"Do you REALLY think that's going to stop Olivia?" Tara giggled.

Sweetie Belle shrugged and the two began to make their way back to the orchard to meet up with Olivia.

Olivia silently crept through the kitchen toward the door. She needed to get to the human world, and quickly. Even if the boys hadn't shown up the day before, there was still no risking being late. If she was lucky, they might not show up again.

"Olivia!" She heard a voice call from upstairs, "Sugar Cube? You doing alright?"

Olivia felt a surge of panic run up her body. Should she continue going and run out the door? Or should she let Applejack find her and make up some kind of excuse? She heard hoof steps coming down the stairs. Out of sheer instinct, she quickly pulled out a stool and opened a cabinet to make it look like she was looking for something.

"Sugar cube, what're you doin' out of bed?" Applejack asked as she climbed down the stairs.

"I got hungry," Olivia replied quickly, pulling a plate out of the cabinet as she spoke, "I just realized I haven't eaten in a while."

Applejack nodded, "Well, ya sure are right about that. Ya' skipped supper three times in a row."

Olivia shrugged and opened the fridge to crap and apple fritter, "I guess I wasn't very hungry then, but I'm doing a lot better now."

Applejack grinned a little at this; Olivia did seem a lot better than she was before. She had no idea what Fluttershy had said to her, but she did know that it helped a lot. Soon, Olivia would probably be going in to town again just like normal.

Just then, the door slammed open to reveal Sweetie Belle, and to Applejack's surprise, Tara. Applejack was sure that Tara would've stomped off back to the human world after their conversation this morning, so why was she still here?

Applejack felt a nervous lump in her throat at the thought of Tara telling Olivia what had happened early that morning.

"Sorry have to steal Olivia for a bit, be back later," Tara said so quickly that Applejack almost couldn't comprehend it.

Before she could even interfere, Olivia was pulled from the table and swept out the door. All that was left was a plate with an untouched apple fritter.

"You're welcome," Tara huffed as she pulled Olivia out of the orchard, "You need to learn to get things done quicker, you're almost late. You can make it if you hurry."

"Wait, late for what?" a voice asked from behind.

Tara's eyes widened at the question, she had completely forgotten Sweetie Belle had been following them. She slowly looked back at the filly, unsure of what she wanted to say. Luckily, Olivia stepped in.

"I have to meet a friend in the human world," Olivia sighed, "It's kind of important."

Sweetie froze, and thought back to the time where she had seen Olivia buying those leaves in the human world. Is that the kind of meeting she was talking about? Is that why Rarity said Olivia wasn't allowed to go?

"Hey Sweetie Belle?" Olivia suddenly asked, "Can you cover for me with Rarity? You know, if she asks where I am?"

"Yea, sure," Sweetie Belle said nervously

"Thanks," Olivia smiled, "You're the best."

With that, Olivia and Tara approached the portal and fell inside, leaving Sweetie Belle alone with her thoughts.

Maybe it would be a good idea to tell Rarity. She didn't want to, because that could make Olivia angry. But if Rarity didn't want Olivia to be doing this, then that could mean Olivia is in danger.

Pinkie watched as Sweetie Belle galloped away. As soon as the filly was out of sight, she slowly approached the portal herself.

"The human world can't be THAT different," Pinkie pie giggled, "I'll show that silly willy that she has nothing to be afraid of!"

Then, she smiled widely, and hopped through the portal herself.


	16. All that's Different

_**Hey guys, nwtp-dreamer here. Again, sorry for the lack of updates. I'm going to say here not to expect every day updates like Magic is Mystery. I'm finally admitting to myself that I just don't have that kind of time anymore. However I promise you I will finish this story if it's the last thing I do. I reread the story and noticed a lot of bugs, but one thing I noticed was that we haven't gotten in Olivia's head in a while. So I added some more of that this chapter. Enjoy!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

Sweetie Belle stopped in front of the door to the boutique. She had listed every pro and con there was to telling Rarity what Olivia was doing, but nothing could help her make up her mind. On one hand, there was something going on that she didn't completely understand. All she really knew was that Rarity wouldn't be happy about Olivia going to the human world. On the other hand, if she did tell Rarity, Olivia would probably be angry. She'd never seen Olivia specifically angry at her before, and she really didn't plan on seeing it any time soon.

She slowly made her way into the boutique, her eyes fixed upon the floor as she still pondered what direction she would take.

"Ah, Sweetie Belle! You're back!" she suddenly heard Rarity exclaim from her designing table. She glanced over at her sister and gulped.

"Is something the matter, darling?" Rarity asked, looking up from her dress at the smaller unicorn. Sweetie Belle shuffled nervously and took a deep breath.

"N-no," she finally sighed, "It's nothing."

Pinkie felt her hooves hit the ground. She giggled; what a strange feeling she had just felt. She felt like she was frozen and somepony was pointing a thousand fans at her. All around her were spots of pink, green, and silver. They seemed to go on forever, but trapped her in at the same time. She giggled again, her eyes now closed tightly. If the portal was that fun, then how bad could the human world be?

She opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the sun; or rather, the lack of it. As far as she could tell, there wasn't one. There were only clouds; dark, ominous clouds. More seemed to be blurring the blue sky by the second. But where were they coming from? Pinkie looked to the side to see clouds coming out of a building; a factory, to be exact. An endless cloud was pouring out of the building.

Next, she examined the ground. It was so cold, and the grass wasn't soft at all. In Equestria, the grass was soft and green. Here it was frozen, crunchy, and brown. She was standing on a sidewalk that was half covered in dirt, half covered in ice. She shivered and looked over to the street. There were no people as she had hoped; only broken glass and litter.

"What is this place?" She wondered aloud with another shiver.

She looked around again to see two figures in the distance. There seemed to be no other people on the street, so these figures might be the only chance she has. Without a second thought, she races up to the figures until she's about twenty feet away. She stopped mid-gallop when she realized that the two figures happened to be Tara and Olivia.

"Did you hear something?" Olivia asked a bit startled.

"No, nothing. You really are getting jumpy, aren't you?" Tara replied, putting a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

Pinkie silently made her way to a nearby bush. If she wasn't going to see any people, she was at least going to follow Olivia. She was curious to see how differently she acted in the human world. She muffled a giggle; this was really making her think like Twilight.

Olivia pulled her shoulder away from Tara and continued walking. She shoved her hands in her pockets to make sure she still had some pot left over from the last visit. As far as she could make out, she had at least fifteen bags. She breathed a sigh of relief. That would defiantly be enough to make it through today, and maybe even the next visit.

She herself wasn't even sure how she had gotten into this whole mess in the first place. One day, about a year ago, she decided to take a new route to school. She came across the park, decided she had some extra time to check it out; the boys came out of the woods… then what?

She grimaced at the memory; being beat half senseless into a tree for being where she wasn't supposed to be. They forced her on her knees and pretended she was begging for mercy. Their deal was that they wouldn't kill her if she showed up at the park every day from then on. She had to do whatever the boys said; no arguments and no telling anyone else. Every day they would do whatever they wanted with her, and twice a week she would pay for and bring them their pot. On the days she didn't have to, they would use her to play games, conduct experiments, anything they wanted to do.

It did make for a lot of awkward situations back in Equestria, like how they had tormented her with the sound of a slamming door for three weeks straight, and then whenever anypony slammed a door, she would jump right out of her skin. However, she seemed to be doing a pretty good job of hiding the situation for the past year. Until now, that is.

She couldn't help but think of that close call when Tara first showed up in Equestria. When Tara mentioned the park out loud, she feared that somepony would've realized Tara knew something. The way Applejack looked at her; she knew for sure she was starting to catch on. But she hadn't said anything about it yet, so Olivia was starting to think she may have just gotten lucky this time.

Still though, she could tell that the ponies were beginning to get suspicious. She thought that the stares may have distracted them for a while, but there were a certain few that didn't seem too convinced. She was glad to see that Applejack was starting to act like her normal, suspicious self again, but it defiantly didn't help her problem.

She glanced over at Tara and sighed. To make matters worse, Tara wasn't exactly fantastic at keeping secrets. She knew it very well. She really didn't have a choice in Tara finding out about the situation. She just happened to be walking to school the same way Olivia was walking to find a place to clean up. Tara had pledged not to tell a single soul, and she hadn't for the most part. But there were more close calls than Olivia would like to remember.

Pinkie grew agitated with the fact that Tara and Olivia weren't talking to each other. Did friends not talk to each other in the human world? That was a silly thing to think about. If you couldn't talk to each other, then how could you be friends? Just then she heard laughing. Not from the two girls, but from behind her. She turned to see a gang of kids, maybe a little older than Olivia. They were all laughing together.

"That's what real friends act like," Pinkie whispered to herself.

Just then, a tall boy from the group aimed his arm upward, and threw something high in the air. It looked like it was some kind of rock. Pinkie's eyes followed the object until it met with the glass on somebody's window, and an earsplitting shatter was heard.

Pinkie gasped; that poor person's window! She looked over at the group of kids expecting to see shocked faces, but instead was met with all of them laughing and cheering as they prepared another rock for launch. She didn't understand what they were so happy about. She watched as a second rock was launched, and it landed in the middle of the windshield of somebody's car.

She didn't know much about cars, but she did know that they were very important, and also very expensive. She looked over to the group of kids again, only to see them laughing even harder and running toward the car. From there, they proceeded to pound more stones into the car, creating massive holes in every window and scratches all over the paint.

Pinkie stood; dumbfounded. Why would they do something this mean and be so happy about it? She shook her head. She couldn't worry about that right now. She had set a mission for herself. She turned to continue following the two girls, only to be met with silence. No footsteps. They were gone.

Olivia and Tara came to the last street corner before Olivia's turn. Tara nervously glanced over to the younger girl and held her hand.

"What if you just skipped out?" Tara half begged, "They haven't shown up the past few times, right? They probably won't be there today. If you skipped, they'd never know!"

Olivia pushed Tara's hand away and sighed, "You know I can't take that chance. What if I skipped and they were there today? If they aren't: fantastic. But if they are, I can't risk upsetting them again."

"But if you just kept on skipping out…"

"Tara, stop!" Olivia cried. She took a deep breath, "I have to do this. I'll be okay, I promise."

Tara looked extremely unsure, but she nodded all the same. She hugged Olivia tightly, while keeping in mind all the things she'd learned about the girl over the course of the past few days.

"Just make sure you're at my house before school, shorty," Tara half giggled, half sighed, "Alive."

Olivia only nodded as she pulled away from the hug, gave Tara a quick smile, and turned her corner toward the park.

So Tara just stood there, watching the other girl walk herself into harm's way. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of Olivia, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. As much as she hated to admit it, there was no getting around this. She just had to do her best to help make it easier on her friend in every way she possibly could; whether it was helping her get there on time, treating her afterwards in secret, or if she didn't show up to her house on time, going out to find her. If she was sure of anything, it was that she was NOT going to let Olivia die. Not when she could have some say in it.

Olivia walked with her hands shoved in her pockets. It was strange; she hadn't walked this way normally in a long, long time. Were things starting to go back to normal? She shook her head. No matter how normal this seemed, the ponies back in Equestria still had some idea that something was up. She touched the scar on her cheek and sighed; nothing could distract them from that event.

She approached the park cautiously and stepped forward toward the woods. She honestly had no idea what to expect. Were they going to show up this time? Were they not? She wasn't exactly sure which one she preferred, but it was agonizing to wonder.

"It's been a while, pipsqueak," she heard a voice behind her whisper.

She and was met with the stomach of C.J. She staggered back a bit, only to bump into another. She tried not to show any fear, but her eyes were consumed by a dark blue color.

"Aw, only dark blue?" C.J. mockingly pouted, "Bummer, guess we'll have to work extra hard today, twerp."

"Where's the pot?" Jason perked up.

"Patience, Jason. We'll get to that soon. It's been a while since we've seen our little friend, here. We have catching up to do."

Olivia felt herself being lifted off the ground, and suddenly her coat was ripped off of her. Jason swung her around so that her face met the tether ball pole.

"We didn't really plan anything this time," C.J. admitted, "So I thought we'd go a little old fashioned."

Adam then grabbed the girl's arm and bent it her back to that her finger nails were touching the collar of her shirt. Olivia squirmed in agony, but didn't make any attempt to move her arm downward. She knew that would just make them try harder.

"Not even a squeal?" C.J. pouted again, "Someone's gained some confidence since we've been away. Let's see if we can't break it."

Just then, Adam released her arm and turned her so that her back was straight up against the pole. He took her hands behind her back and tied them together with her own sweatshirt. He pushed her forward. Her body fell but then snapped back instantly once her hands met with the pole. She was trapped there.

"Perfect," C.J. mused.

He stepped forward and gave Olivia a quick smirk. She prepared herself by closing her eyes and turning her head away. In one swift movement, C.J.'s knee collided with Olivia's stomach. Then he repeated. Over, and over, and over.

Olivia wasn't sure how much more of it she could take. She felt like she was going to throw up. She finally couldn't hold her position anymore, and she crumpled to her knees. Unfortunately, due to this development occurring without warning, she fell just in time for C.J.'s knee to hit her directly in the nose. Jason and Adam cheered as C.J. backed away.

Olivia couldn't do anything but stare at the new puddle of blood that was forming around her knees. She coughed slightly, but it felt like it took away too much energy to even do that. She felt her hands being untied, and her face went forward into the puddle. Her hoodie was thrown on top of her, but she couldn't find the energy to react.

"Fifteen bags," Jason almost sung, "It's gonna be a good day."

"Thanks kid," C.J. laughed as he threw a snowball at the girl, "See you tomorrow!"

Pinkie watched wide eyed from the bushes, not taking any care to hold back her tears. She was speechless, immobile; she could only stare ahead at the little crying mound that was one of her very best friends. Half of her brain told her to go and help the girl, like it had been for the past twenty minutes or so. But she couldn't find her legs. She snapped out of it as the mound began so move, and Olivia propped herself up with shaky arms. Pinkie marveled at the girl's strength, but alas, the girl fell forward again in a matter of seconds.

"Liv?" Pinkie suddenly heard a voice call. She turned to see Tara slowly walking down the sidewalk.

Pinkie immediately ducked her head into the leaves. She couldn't risk being caught, especially right now. She wanted to desperately to go out and bring the little girl into her hooves, but now wasn't the time.

"LIV!" Tara screamed as she spotted the girl, face first in a puddle of blood. She ran over and knelt next to the girl. She carefully rolled Olivia over, to be met with a face covered in blood and tears. She felt the heat of her own tears begin to trickle down her cheeks, but she ignored them and focused on the more serious matter.

"Tara?" Olivia began. Tara hushed the girl and lifted her off the ground. Her first thought was how light Olivia was, but she shook the thought away and began to run toward home. She needed to take care of Olivia quickly. There wasn't any room for wasted time.

Pinkie felt her hooves hit the soft grass as she exited the portal back to Equestria. Her mane and tail were flat, and she dragged her hooves back to Sugar Cube Corner.

She couldn't believe what she had just seen. There were just so many things that didn't make sense. Which usually, she didn't mind, but this was different. Why would those boys do that to Olivia? She was just a little kid. Why would they do that to anybody?

She looked at her surroundings. Happy ponies going about their daily routine, soft grass and a big, shining sun. Olivia was right; there was nothing about the human world that was even the slightest bit similar to Equestria. Nopony had any business going through that portal. But then again… why did they let Olivia go there every day?

"Pinkie?" Twilight said, startled.

Pinkie entered Sugar Cube Corner to find everypony waiting for her there. They all looked shocked to see her.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, "Where in the hay have you been?"

Pinkie suddenly realized that she had been gone a good few hours, and no one had been watching the bakery while she was away. Naturally, her friends would start to wonder.

"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked, noticing the flat mane.

Pinkie wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to tell them everything she had seen, but what if Olivia got angry? There had to be a reason for her not telling anypony, right? She couldn't tell them just yet. Still, though, she had to say something.

"I… followed Olivia today…"

Everypony's mouths were open in shock, especially Applejack's.

"What did you see?" Twilight was the first one to ask. She had been studying about the human world for years, but she had never had the guts to follow Olivia into the portal. From what Olivia and Sadie had said, it was far too dangerous for ponies.

Pinkie sat down and attempted to explain everything. The dark sky, the dirt, the cold; she explained it all the best she could. How she saw people doing bad things for fun, people destroying things, people fighting with other people. There was so much she could say about the human world.

Everypony's eyes widened as they listened to Pinkie's tale. They all sat there discussing the human world for a long, long time. They all lost track of time, but they couldn't help it. Even after all the bad things they had seen and heard in the past five years, it was still shocking to hear what the human world was really like. None of them could imagine just how Pinkie felt after seeing it all.

"What're you guys doing?" A voice from the door asked. They all looked up to see Olivia and Tara standing there, both with very confused looks on their faces. Pinkie's mane poofed back up to its curly self in order to hide what they had been talking about.

"Nothin' much, sugar cube," Applejack stepped in, "Just visitin' with each other. What've you been up to?"

"Just hanging around with Tara," Olivia shrugged.

"You feelin' any better today?"

Olivia looked down at her toes, "I think so. I'm still a little tired… and my head kinda hurts… but I think I'm okay."

Applejack nodded, "That's good. You wanna head on back home now?"

"Yea… I think so."

With that, Applejack stood from her place and coaxed Olivia out the door. She glanced back at Tara, who just flashed a quick smile before joining the other ponies at the table.

"See you later, Liv. I'll head over in a bit." Tara shouted out the door.

"See ya!" Olivia shouted back.

Pinkie couldn't believe what she was seeing. Neither of the girls seemed affected by what had happened at all. She tried to keep her mane puffed up while Tara was still in the room, but then she had an idea. If she told only Tara about what she saw, maybe she could start getting some answers.


	17. Promises

_**Hello! Are you proud of me? This chapter was uploaded relatively sooner than a majority of the other ones! I realized that the best way to motivate myself for writing more of this was watching ponies and re-reading what I've written so far. This new season is defiantly helping me along, especially with a decent Applejack episode. I still wouldn't expect everyday updates, though. Guess we'll just have to play it by year.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC! The only characters I own are Olivia, Sadie, Tara, and the boys. **_

Applejack couldn't help but stare at the girl walking in front of her as tales of the human world ran through her mind. She had known very well before that it was bad, but until Pinkie told her what she had seen only hours before, she hadn't the slightest idea of how bad it really was. No matter how hard she tried to visualize it, she could barely imagine something like Pinkie Pie saw. It only made her want to keep Olivia away from it.

Of course, she knew that she couldn't do such a thing. It was the Princess' orders that Olivia visit the human world at least once a day in order to keep her healthy since Equestria didn't necessarily have EVERYTHING a human needed to survive. Even though this point began to change as Olivia got older and she began to argue with that logic, Celestia's orders remained firm.

In a way, she could see why. Compared to five years before, Olivia hadn't grown up much at all. Applejack wasn't sure if it was the environment, or if somehow they were preventing her from it. But Olivia still remained a bit immature and barely a few inches taller than she was back then.

The two neared the main square of Ponyville, and Olivia halted in place. There were so many ponies out this time of day. Would she be able to handle it? She gulped and took a step forward into the crowd. She took long, deep breaths as she strode forward, being careful not to lose sight of Applejack, who had cautiously walked ahead of her.

Applejack kept at a slow pace, nervously looking back at Olivia every couple of steps. She could tell that Olivia wasn't quite comfortable walking through town just yet, especially on a day like today. She was trying, though, so it'd be a crime to take that from her.

Olivia began to calm down a bit. It seemed like everypony was so busy with their own routine, that they didn't even notice her. This was extremely relieving, and she picked up her pace just a little.

"Mommy, what is that?" she suddenly heard a voice behind her ask.

She quickly turned to meet with a wide-eyed colt and his mother, who had an extremely peculiar look on her face…

"Shh, don't point, Shining Jet," the mother replied, "We'll talk about it when we get home."

The colt shrugged and continued walking, but the mother remained behind for a second, giving Olivia a long look. Olivia staggered back, she knew those eyes anywhere. That stare. Suddenly the mare stepped toward her. Olivia's eyes quickly turned light blue out of pure panic, and her eyes began to glisten. The interaction between the two caused some other ponies to look up to see what the commotion was all about.

Applejack stopped in her tracks when the group of ponies behind her got eerily quiet. She snapped her head to the left to see what was going on, and she saw it. A group of ponies, unblinking, staring in a very strange way at a certain little girl. She gasped and grabbed Olivia by the collar of her shirt.

Olivia, who had been so focused on the stares, began to shriek in panic as she felt herself pulled backwards, "I'M SORRY! PLEASE, I'M SORRY!"

Applejacks eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock, causing Olivia to fall flat on her back. Applejack's heart broke as she gazed upon the girl, who was shielding her face from whatever imaginary dangers were attacking her mind. She needed to calm Olivia down, but it would be difficult to do in front of so many ponies. Her only choice was to carry Olivia out of the open, which would no doubt only worsen the girl's cries. She held her breath and grabbed hold of Olivia again, throwing the girl on her back in one swift motion. Once she was sure Olivia was safely secured, she galloped away from the square full speed.

Tears gradually filled her eyes as she heard the terrified cries of the girl on her back. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew that Olivia hadn't acted like this in a long, long time. Something very serious was defiantly going on.  
>_<p>

Pinkie closed the door behind her as she entered her bedroom upstairs. Once she was sure that they were alone, she let her mane and tail go flat once again.

"P-Pinkie?" Tara stuttered at the scene.

"Tara," Pinkie started, completely out of character, "I… I need to know why you won't tell anypony."

"W-what?" was all Tara could answer.

"Olivia is getting hurt. I know that, and you know that. But why doesn't anypony else?"

Tara stared at the pink pony in complete bewilderment. She had no idea what to make of this situation. Was this another plan to get her to spill the beans? Anger rose in her chest as she remembered earlier that morning. They just weren't getting the point.

"I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I can't tell you! For the last time!"

Pinkie finally looked up into Tara's eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks. The shocked Tara stepped forward and put an arm around the pony. "I'm sorry, but I really can't."

"Tara…," Pinkie whispered, "I… I… I followed you into the human world."

Tara's eyes widened with complete shock, "You…"

"I saw… everything," Pinkie stated before letting out a few sobs, "Why did they hurt her, Tara? Why do they think it's so fun? Fun isn't supposed to make other ponies sad."

Tara simply stared as her pony companion cried onto the floor. It reminded her of when she first found out, but she didn't react quite as drastically. She understood the human world and its problems; it had been just another part of her life up until now. She could only imagine the confusion and horror Pinkie was feeling at this very moment. But even so, she couldn't risk anyone else finding out.

"Pinkie," Tara said calmly, "I know it's really hard, but you have to promise not to tell anypony what you saw."

Pinkie looked up at Tara with innocence in her eyes, "Why not?"

Tara hesitated, but then began to explain the whole situation to Pinkie. She knew it was hard to understand, so she broke it down the best she could. The main issue being that they weren't sure how many people knew, or who they were. If someone found out and got a single or multiple of them in trouble, there would always be more to come after Olivia with even worse.

Pinkie only cried harder. She understood, but she didn't like it one bit.  
>_<p>

Applejack heaved and gasped as she stopped in the middle of the apple orchard. Gently, she slid Olivia off her back and onto the ground. The girl's cries were no longer very loud, but she was visibly shaking and tears still flowed like waterfalls down her cheeks. Her eyes were closed tightly, still flinching at every little excuse for a sound.

Applejack felt one of her own tears drop into one of her hooves as she knelt down next to the girl.

"Olivia?" she whispered, "It's okay, there's nothin' to be afraid of. We're alone now."

Olivia slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was trees, which instantly sent her into panic all over again, remembering the familiar forest near the park. Loud sobs began to escape her throat once more.

"Oh, sugarcube…" Applejack sighed full of concern as she ever so gently lifted Olivia into her fore hooves.

She had never really seen Olivia act this way before, other than after a nightmare. There was a part of her that thanked Celestia she wasn't able to get to Olivia when her father had shown up, she wasn't sure she would've been able to handle it.

"Please, sugarcube," Applejack whispered out of instinct as she rocked the girl gently, "Everythin's gonna be okay. I'm right here, no one's gonna hurt you no more."

Applejack caught herself as soon as she said this, since, as far as she knew, no one had hurt her purposely in a long time. However, when she looked down at the girl in her hooves, she seemed to be starting to calm down. Reluctantly, tried again.

"That's right, sugarcube, I'll protect you. No one's gonna hurt you again, I promise."

Olivia began to open her eyes again, slowly looking up at the orange pony. She was completely worn out, and couldn't think straight anymore. All she knew was that she had heard a promise.

"Really?" she whimpered hopefully.

Applejack's heart melted as she hugged Olivia closer to her, eyes once again filling with moisture.

"Really. I promise, cross my heart, no one will EVER hurt you again."

Olivia finally gained the strength to hug the pony in return. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she didn't believe Applejack one bit. She didn't even know what was going on; there was no way for her to stop it. But, for now, she enjoyed the company of one of the only things that was keeping her sane through all of this.

"I love you, Mom," she whispered before letting herself fall asleep, her aching head and muscles thanking her.

Applejack smiled as she once again lifted the girl onto her back. "I love you too," she replied softly, and began walking back to the barn at a steady pace. Sure, she didn't know what had happened or why. And sure, her conversation a few seconds ago was just giving her more suspicions. But none of that mattered in this very moment. Olivia was safe and calm. And as long as she had that, Applejack was okay with letting the girl keep her secret for just a little bit longer.  
>_<p>

"…are there really that many humans in the world?" Pinkie asked curiously but not energetically.

Tara nodded simply, "Yep, billions. It's a really big world."

"And… out of ALL of them, you have no idea who else is a part of this?"

Tara hesitated, "Essentially, yea. But I wouldn't go as far as to say out of ALL of them. Probably only people within our country… or even state."

"…which is bigger?"

"The country."

Pinkie and Tara sat in Pinkie's bedroom quietly for a long time, only occasionally would Pinkie quietly ask a question about the human world, in order to try and put the situation together better in her head.

Pinkie now understood the extent of the problem, and knew that telling anypony was extremely risky, but she still didn't like it. It was hard for her to agree with just letting Olivia get hurt, and attempting to help in any way she could without getting caught like Tara did. Pinkie had never even imagined a situation like this before.

But, all the same, she had to agree. All of Tara's points made sense, and she defiantly didn't want to risk hurting Olivia even more. She was just going to have to do what she could… for now. In the future, she'd probably try to figure out a way to make everypony happy. But for now, all she could do was help. Quietly.

Still though, how was she supposed to hide all of this from everypony else?


	18. Clueless

Tara waved goodbye to the other ponies at Sugar Cube Corner and made her way through Ponyville will a small smile planted on her face. Sure, somepony knew Olivia's secret, but Tara had managed to swear Pinkie to secrecy, and that's all that mattered. In a way, she did blame herself, but there's no way she could've stopped it, right? Right. No one could've predicted Pinkie following them into the human world. All she did was tell Pinkie enough that she would keep her mouth shut.

She looked around; it amazed her to think about how quickly she had come to know Equestria. She was already making her way to Sweet Apple Acres without even beginning to get lost. This world was beautiful in every way. It was no wonder Olivia wanted to stay here. She cringed as she thought of the living conditions back in the human world. Olivia was so lucky. It was such an amazing feeling the first time Tara entered Equestria. It felt weird, but everything was so warm and wonderful at the same time. She couldn't even imagine what Pinkie must have felt when she opened her eyes in the human world.

She stopped in place; she had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She turned around to see a young colt staring up at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Um… hello?" she said to the colt.

Her voice attracted more attention, and more ponies turned around to look. Nopony said anything; they all just stood and stared. It made Tara nervous. She backed away from the crowd of ponies and continued walking, not taking her eyes off of the crowd behind her. Nopony moved. She cautiously looked forward again and stepped onto the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres.

"That was so weird?" she whispered to herself.

"What was so weird?" A voice suddenly asked from above her. She jumped to see a cyan pony with a rainbow mane hovering above her.

"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash," she said awkwardly, shuffling her feet.

"Hey, kid," Rainbow greeted, floating down to Tara's side, "What was so weird?"

"Nothing important," Tara shrugged, "Just some ponies in the square were giving me weird looks. Probably nothing."

Rainbow froze in midair, "What kind of weird looks?"

"I dunno," Tara replied simply, "They just kinda stared at me… like they were confused or something."

Rainbow's mouth dropped in shock and she flew higher into the air, "I'll meet you at the barn, Tara. Okay?"

"Sure?"

With that, Rainbow sped off toward Applejack's barn, leaving Tara to continue walking alone in her thoughts.

"Applejack!" Rainbow shouted as she burst into the kitchen. Applejack was just making her way down the stairs.

"Hiya Rainbow…," she replied emotionlessly, "What's goin' on?"

"You okay?" Rainbow stopped her panic to inspect her friend's lack of optimism.

"I dunno, Rainbow," Applejack sighed, sitting down at the table, "I feel like I have no idea what's goin' on in her life, ya know? Shouldn't a parent know these things?"

Rainbow didn't have any clue what to say. She had never been the best at the whole parenting thing. Then again, Olivia and Scootaloo responded to her efforts pretty well. Maybe she was better at it than she thought?

"None of us have any idea," Rainbow decided to respond, sitting in the chair next to Applejack, "As much as we don't like to think so; Olivia is different from all of us. She's a different species. It's harder to read her than it is to read a little filly."

"But it's been five years," Applejack groaned, "You would like I'd've learned her ways by now."

"True… but I think she's also learned yours."

Applejack looked up in confusion, "What'ya mean by that?"

"Well… you're really protective, Applejack," Rainbow started cautiously, "But I think you always kinda handle things the same way. She might know you so well that it's easier for her to get things past you."

Applejack thought about it for a minute. She didn't want to admit it, but what Rainbow said did make a little sense. She tended to handle things the same way because they always seemed to work, but now things weren't working so well. Did Olivia have everything all figured out?

Applejack smiled and shook her head, "When did you become an expert, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash blushed, "I dunno."

There was a short period of silence between the two of them, and then Rainbow remembered why she had rushed over in the first place.

"Oh hey, I need to talk to you about Tara," she broke the silence.

"Tara? What about 'er?"

"I talked to her on the way over here," Rainbow began, "She was talking about how some ponies in the square were staring at her weird."

Applejack's eyes widened, "They were doin' the same thing to Olivia just a little while ago."

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair, "Well, looks like Olivia wasn't imagining things."

"Olivia?" A high pitched voice cut into the darkness.

Olivia groaned, her eyelids fluttering open as the voice repeated her name over and over. What had happened? Where was she?

"Are ya awake, Olivia?" The voice said again, more clear this time.

"Yea," Olivia mumbled, "I'm awake."

"I'm sorry," Applebloom retracted, "I jus… ya know we haven't seen ya in a while…"

Olivia sat up a bit and inspected her surroundings. She was in her room, and judging by the lighting it was early evening, and the sun was just going down. In front of her were both Applebloom and Scootaloo sitting on the floor.

"Where's Sweetie Belle?"

"She's with Rarity," Scootaloo said casually, sitting at the side of Olivia's bed, she's gonna meet us here later.

"Cool," Olivia shrugged, "So what's up?"

"What's up with us?" Applebloom started, "What's up with you?"

Olivia flinched at Applebloom's small outburst, and then Scootaloo turned to Applebloom with a disapproving glare.

"Lighten up, Applebloom. Olivia's got a lot going on."

"It's cool, Scoots," Olivia yawned, "I have been distant. I don't blame her."

"I'm sorry," Applebloom sat up on the bed with the other two, "I guess… I jus' miss you, Olivia. Ever since you got outta the hospital, we've barely gotten a chance ta' hang out!"

"I know," Olivia sighed, "I miss you guys too. I wish things could just be back to normal, but with all of them breathing down my neck I've barely gotten a chance to leave the house."

"And every time you do get the chance, you get too scared," Scootaloo mumbled.

"I-I'm sorry," Olivia repeated nervously, "I want to hang out with you guys, I really do. It's just…"

"I heard Applejack gettin' all stressed out over ponies starin' at you earlier…" Applebloom pondered, "Is that why?"

"Yea," Olivia sighed, "Yea, it is."

"But Olivia," Scootaloo started nervously, "They've always done that."

Olivia flinched. Had they really? "I guess… I guess I've just never gotten the chance to notice before… I was always so distracted with something; I barely even realized I wasn't a pony myself."

"I'm startin' to think we were the only ones who did realize," Applebloom sighed, "Everypony is suddenly goin' loony cuz they don't completely understand you. But they never have, so why is it botherin' them now?"

Olivia thought for a minute. She was right; nopony had ever COMPLETELY understood her. But why were they all getting their tails in a bunch now?

"I guess with the possibility of another secret, they can't help but over think things," Olivia finally decided.

"Speaking of," Scootaloo snapped her head toward Olivia, "What is this new secret?"

Olivia was taken back; she had completely expected them to stay off the topic as everypony else had been. But this was Scootaloo she was talking to. She was the first one who convinced her to spill the secret about her father. She should've seen it coming.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier," Olivia nearly giggled, "Last time you had me the second you saw me."

Scootaloo shrugged, "Couldn't have ponies eves-dropping. This is the first good opportunity I've had."

"How do you know they're not listening now?"

"Applejack is downstairs talking to Rainbow Dash about something," she motioned toward the door, "They both seemed pretty out of it, so they should be occupied for a while."

Olivia laid her head back on the pillow, "Trust me, if I could tell you, I would. I trust you guys more than anyone."

"Why can't ya?" Applebloom asked sadly.

"Because I can't risk you guys getting hurt," Olivia grumbled, "This threat is a lot different than my dad. No matter how much you try to fight back, there's always going to be more."

"I'm not sure if I really get it…" Scootaloo pondered, "But if you really feel that way, we'll save it for another time."

"What? But Scoot, what about all the stuff we read at Twilight's? We know what we're gettin' into!" Applebloom interrupted.

"What stuff?" Olivia asked curiously.

"Well…" Scootaloo started nervously, "We were trying to look up more stuff about the human world, and we found this book called 'In the Ghetto'. It sounded a lot like where you said you went to school so…"

Scootaloo and Applebloom proceeded to explain what the book had told them, and Olivia found herself rolling her eyes throughout the entirety of it.

"It's sounds like the book is trying to describe a horror movie setting," Olivia groaned.

"Well…" Applebloom gazed off innocently, and then the three laughed.

"They've got the most BASIC concept down, I guess," Olivia sighed, "But that's not at all what the slums are really like."

"Well then, what are they like?" Scootaloo asked curiously.

"Basically, or at least, the slums I used to live in, people tend not to have very much money. They can't pay to keep their houses well-kept and everyone just kinda seems to be grouchy all the time. The little area I used to live in actually got overgrown by forest."

"In only five years?" Applebloom gawked.

"It was STARTING to grow when I was little," Olivia explained, "There was a really dense forest behind our house, anyway. Once no one was around stepping on the yard or anything, it just kinda spread."

"What was your house like?"

"Small," Olivia shrugged, "It was mostly made out of wood. We had a bigger house before that. It was all dark brick and really big, but then my dad stopped working and we moved into the slums."

Olivia continued to tell the two about how her neighborhood worked and who was in charge of whom. She explained the age dynamic, the school dynamic, and the status dynamic. She glumly admitted that she didn't hold very high in any of the three categories, but that didn't mean she didn't have a status. In fact, she was pretty well known. She was seen over at the richer side of town a lot, so she had a reputation of having connections. She never really thought much of it; she went over there because that's where Sadie lived.

"So… what is the richer side of town like?" Scootaloo asked.

Olivia rolled her eyes; she had a feeling they'd be here for a while.

Applejack quietly opened the door to Olivia's room to find not only her, but Scootaloo and Applebloom asleep beside her, with Sweetie Belle asleep at the foot of the bed. She giggled to herself; she had thought it was too quiet up here.

She cautiously walked over and gazed at the heartwarming sight before her. Both of Olivia's arms were wrapped around the two fillies, and they both clung to her sides, seeking her warmth. Sweetie Belle lay at Olivia's feet, her hooves wrapped gently around Olivia's leg.

Applejack sighed sadly; she really didn't know much about Olivia's life. She knew about her in general, but they really didn't talk about the human world much.

She blamed herself, and she didn't have a problem with it. It was her fault Olivia never talked about the human world with her. She knew Olivia didn't like going there, so she'd always try to take the girl's mind off of it whenever she was home. She had never really thought to ask her about it.

But gazing onto the peaceful sleeping girl, she knew that it was all okay. She softly kissed Olivia's forehead and stroked Applebloom's mane. She couldn't ask for two more perfect little girls to call her own.

Big Mac quietly came into the room and smiled down at the scene. Applejack gestured toward Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. He simply nodded and lifted the two onto his back, preparing to take them home for the night. All that was left on the bed were Applebloom and Olivia. Applejack was about to wake up Applebloom to send her off to bed, but she then decided against it.

She turned out the lights and looked back on the two.

"G'night. I love you both." She whispered, and shut the door behind her.


End file.
